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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



























Picture Talks 
Jfr Children 



& 

Maude I. G. Oliver 

©Brown-Rober t son Co. Inc. 

Educational Art Publishers 

415 Madison Ave.. NewTfork 

OaKley 1$24 _ 





















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OCT 16 ,'924 

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PICTURE TALKS 

for 

CHILDREN 


A PROJECT IN ART APPRECIATION WHICH CAN BE AD¬ 
VANTAGEOUSLY CORRELATED WITH ENGLISH 
LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION, HISTORY, 
PENMANSHIP AND ALLIED SUBJECTS. 

By Maude I. G. Oliver 

With Notes for the Teacher By George C. Oakley 


Foreword 


To minimize the work of the teacher, we have prepared 
for class-room reading a series of explanations varied in sim¬ 
plicity for the several grades. 

The intent is to assist the pupils to develop a “story” by 
discussing the important points in a picture, thus teaching 
them observation by the story method. The child’s natural 
interest in a picture will lead him to the discernment of some 
of its technical qualities. And he will eagerly search for its 
salient characteristics if properly guided by the teacher. 

Each paragraph of the text contains sufficient analytical in¬ 
formation for the average child. The teacher will, of course, 
be governed by the capacity of the class and use her judgment 
in amplifying the original text. The foot-note of suggestions 
appended to each subject refers to certain cardinal points in 
the composition of the picture, approached from the artist’s 
point of view. 


Page three 


The following terms are commonly used in discussing pic¬ 
tures. They should be defined for the student, and made fam¬ 
iliar by application and constant use by the teacher. These 
are motivated with the simplest terms first: 

1 Medium—A term describing the substance with which 

a picture is painted, such as water color, oil, or 
pastel. 

2 Classification—The grouping of the various types of 

pictures—landscapes, portrait, still life, interior, 
marine, genre, nocturne, etc. 

3 Color—The element in a picture which identifies it in 

hue. (In the lower grades, attention to the charm 
of color combinations is sufficient. In the upper 
grades, this subject may be extended to include 
the theories of color harmonies and contrasts.) 

4 Composition—The arrangement of the artists concep¬ 

tion of the subject; the balancing of mass and line 
to form a harmonious pattern. 

5 Draughtsmanship—The drawing of a picture. Good 

draughtmanship means following correct form and 
proportion. Children instinctively appreciate good 
draughtsmanship. They recognize at once truth¬ 
ful portrayal of nature. 

6 Values—A value is the degree of light or dark intensity 

which permits our eyes to comprehend that one 
object is farther or nearer than another. Objects 
always appear lighter as they recede from the eye. 

7 Perspective—The appearance of objects, reduced or en¬ 

larged, according to the distance from the eye. To 
illustrate, the first car of a train appears larger 
than the last car which is farther away. Railroad 
tracks appear to vanish in the distance (the place 
at which they vanish is called the vanishing point). 

8 Technique—The manner in which the medium (water 

color, oil or pastel) is applied to the picture surface; 
the artist’s method of painting which distinguishes 
it from others. 

9 Character—Expression of the artist’s individuality 

through choice of subject. An artist chooses the 
subjects which his own tastes and feelings call forth. 
He paints what he likes best—and treats his sub¬ 
ject in a manner most suited to his temperament. 


Page four 


The Story of Paintings 


(TO BE READ TO THE CLASS, IF SUFFICIENTLY AD¬ 
VANCED. OTHERWISE, THE TEACHER SHOULD 
TELL THE STORY IN HER OWN WAY.) 

Ever since the beginning of time artists have painted pic¬ 
tures. Savage artists wrote with pictures. They colored them 
with bright clays and other minerals. Some of the pictures 
were painted many thousands of years ago. A few of them 
have been discovered in caves, on vases and on the walls of old 
buildings that have been buried in the ground for centuries. 
These have been saved. (If there is time the teacher may tell 
the story of the Tut-ankh-Amon, Mycenaean, Montespan and 
other archaeological excavations with their rich discoveries 
of paintings). 

Most of the beautiful pictures painted during the last 500 
years have also been saved, and they are kept in big public 
buildings called museums. These museums are in the large 
cities in many countries of the world. The most noted are 
the National Gallery, London; the Louvre, Paris; the Prado, 
Madrid; the Pitti Palace, Florence; the Art Institute of Chica¬ 
go; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and the Metropolitan 
Museum in New York. 

Pictures are loved because they make people happy. A 
great picture is appreciated and loved by the people of all 
countries. It, therefore, become very valuable. Pictures are 
also valuable because they represent important periods in the 
history of mankind. 

All of us cannot travel to see the original paintings of great 
artists. But beautiful copies of the paintings have been made 
to look just like the originals. Some of these copies are painted 
on canvas and exhibited in small picture galleries and art 
stores all over the country. Other copies are printed on paper 
with special colored ink. They are called colored prints or re¬ 
productions and cost much less than the copies on canvas. 

It is the colored prints that we have to study in the class¬ 
room. They are accurate reproductions of the original paint¬ 
ings. They show us the beautiful colors and harmonious pat¬ 
terns that the artist uses to tell his story. 


Page jive 


A First Step in Picture Study 

In looking at a picture, the first thought should be of its 
composition. Is it well or badly composed? Is the distribu¬ 
tion of masses harmonious? Good composition means appro¬ 
priate balance of mass and line and space. Monotonous space 
and monotonous line can be artistically broken by the intro¬ 
duction of objects which help to make a pleasing pattern or 
design. Space relationships make a picture commonplace or 
interesting and must be considered in every analysis. Filling 
a certain space or leaving it unfilled has a definite object in the 
unity of a composition, according to the purpose of the artist. 

In first looking at a picture the pupils should half close 
their eyes in order to visualize the composition as a whole. In 
this way the pattern and arrangement of mass can be more 
clearly determined. 

To see the pattern is an important factor in analysis. It 
will assist the teacher in the entire work with the class in art 
appreciation if, with every lesson, the pupils will visualize the 
pattern. Let them 

A—Trace the outline of the composition in the air with 
pencil, following the artist’s idea as a whole, eliminating de¬ 
tails, and looking for the big lines. 

B—Draw a square, oblong, or circle on paper (according 
to the shape of the picture to be studied) and make in this 
space a rough outline of the basic pattern of the picture. The 
important thing is to draw roughly the outer pattern to show 
the placing of the different objects in relation to one another. 

C—Hold colored papers against the picture to study the 
various color schemes. When a picture is largely composed 
of one color, use papers comprising different shades of that 
color. For studying the variety of whites, use the white, 
cream, gray and buff papers of the class-room, and the hand¬ 
kerchief. 

The term Center of Interest , used in referring to a picture, 
means the most prominent part to which the eye is imme¬ 
diately attracted. The Center of Interest is the main feature 
of a painting to which the lesser parts are subordinated. The 
beauty of a pattern depends largely upon the way in which 
the accessories are related to the Center of Interest. 

The study of pictures and an understanding of the ele¬ 
ments in their composition will develop in young people clear 
perception, a sense of proportion, a love of the beautiful • and 
will cultivate those aesthetic qualities which influence their re¬ 
lation to all other things in life. 

Page six 


Grade One 


SUBJECT: Child With Cherries—(Louvre, Paris) 
ARTIST: John Russell—(English) 


This is a picture of a girl with a basket of cherries. Don’t 
you think the colors are pretty? Look at the lovely blue sash! 

There are other blue things in the picture. Can you tell 
what they are? (Eyes, sky, water). See how the yellow spots 
in the girl’s hair are nearly like the yellow of the basket. See 
how she tips her head to the side, as she holds up her hand to 
show us the cherries. 

How happy she looks! 

This picture is made with a very fine kind of colored chalk, 
called pastel. The artist, John Russell, used pastel for most 
of his pictures. 

Some pictures have the color mixed with water, and we call 
them water colors. Other pictures have the color mixed with 
oil, so we call them oil colors. But pastels always keep nice 
and bright longer than pictures made with other materials. 

Note: A comparison of colors —(a) the white dress with the 
white paper; (b) the flesh tints with the white dress and with 
the lower sky; (c) the cherries with the child’s lips; (d) the 
portion of green background with the cherry leaf; (e) also the 
different hues of blue-green, blue sash, and purple-blue sky. ' 

The center of interest is here found in the face of the child. 
It is placed somewhat away from the center of the picture, 
thereby conforming to a basic theory of composition. The 
spirit of the picture gives an effect of poise, contrasted how¬ 
ever, with arrested motion found in the cherries held high 
enough to fill the space at the side of the head, and in the 
basket which is kept from falling by the firm clasp of the left 
hand. 

The right forearm presents a clever handling of the prob¬ 
lem of foreshortening. The left forearm is more in repose 
and breaks the sash in a way to avoid monotony. 


Page seven 


SUBJECT: Two Sisters—(Art Institute, Chicago) 

ARTIST: Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida—(Spanish) 

{IVah keen Sore al’ ah ee Bahs tee dah) 

In Spain there have been many wonderful artists. One of 
these, called Sorolla, brought his pictures to America for us 
to see. People liked them so much that they bought a great 
many to keep in this country. 

The picture of “Two Sisters” is an oil painting. It is made 
with the kind of paint that is mixed with oil, and it is painted 
with a long brush. 

Sorolla was noted for pictures like this, showing people on 
the seashore with the bright sun shining upon them. The sand 
is just like a looking-glass. See how dark the water is at the 
top of the picture. 

Sorolla painted water in sunlight to look very real, and that 
is not easy to do. We cannot see any of the sky, because the 
artist was sitting up high when he painted this picture. If you 
look off over the ocean, the bottom of the sky will always seem 
just as high as your eyes. So if you can’t see any sky at all in 
a picture, you will know that the artist sat on a hill looking 
down upon the water. 


Note: This canvas affords ample opportunity to compare 
colors, particularly sunlight and shadow effects on the two 
children. The filling of space and the naturalness of the poses 
are of interest. This is an admirable example of spontaneous 
painting. It is full of action. The figures appear to advance 
as toward a camera. It should be remembered that in all of 
Sorolla’s work he aimed to preserve the fleeting effects of sun¬ 
light by means of pure color. 


SUBJECT: Children of Charles I—(Louvre, Paris) 

ARTIST: Sir Anthony Van Dyck—(Flemish) 

{Van Dike’) 

There never was an artist who painted kings and queens 
and princes more beautifully than Van Dyck. He makes us 
feel as if we were inside the palaces where they lived. These 
royal children in the picture are so real that we can imagine 

Page eight 


them bowing and talking with one another. 

The boy in brown satin was the Prince of Wales, who grew 
up to be King Charles II. The boy in the center is dressed as 
a girl because it was the fashion then. He became King 
James II. The girl was Princess Mary, who became the queen 
of William of Orange. 

When the children were posing for this picture, their dog 
walked up and sat very still so he could have his picture 
painted, too. 


Note: Van Dyck was essentially a court painter. His 
portraits are a record of the life and times of the cavaliers. 
Attention should be drawn to the variety of whites in the 
picture. Compare the white lace collar of the Prince with 
the white silk dress of Princess Mary, and with the creamy 
white hair of the dog. The artist has varied his brush strokes 
in order to render the texture of the different rich materials 
in the costumes. 


SUBJECT: Age of Innocence—(National Gallery, London) 

ARTIST: Sir Joshua Reynolds—(English) 

{Josh' oo a Renolz) 

Sir Joshua Reynolds was a great English painter who loved 
children with all his heart. He had more little children for 
friends than any other painter that ever lived. He liked to 
entertain them with tricks and conundrums, and he liked to 
paint their pictures. The children loved him and were never 
tired of posing for their portraits. They would sit still for 
hours because he told them such interesting stories while he 
painted. 

The little girl who sat for this picture was Ofify Gwatkin, 
the artist’s ^rand niece. She went to visit him in his London 
studio and looked so lovely and good and innocent that Sir 
Joshua painted her just as she was. He called the picture the 
"Age of Innocence.” It is one of the best pictures ever painted 
of a little girl. 


Note * The charm of childhood, the graciousness' of the 
English setting, and the admirable sense of placement (the 

Page nine 


light figure against the dark background) have combined to 
make this canvas a favorite for all time. Painted about 1785, 
it is a delightful example of the so-called “English School” of 
portraiture, of which its author was the founder. In this pic¬ 
ture Sir Joshua Reynolds felt that he had attained the partic¬ 
ular “creamy” quality for which he strove. 


SUBJECT: Madonna of the Chair—(Pitti Palace, Florence) 

ARTIST: Raphael Sanzio—(Italian) 

(Raf a el Sahn tsi o) 

Did you ever try to paint a round picture? It is hard to do, 
but the great painter Raphael made this picture easily because 
it tells-a story that he loved. It is his idea of the baby Jesus 
sitting on his mother’s lap. 

One day the artist was walking through the streets of 
Rome, where he lived, and saw a mother at the window hold¬ 
ing her baby just as in the picture, with the older child at her 
knee. So he went home and painted them all on the head of 
a barrel that was in his yard. He called the picture “The 
Madonna of the Chair.” 

The chubby baby nestles close to his mother. So does his 
brother. The soft curves of baby’s legs and mother’s arms, 
and the sweet expression on all the faces make the picture 
very lovely. 


Note: This is one of the most superb representations of 
the Virgin mother and her Child. It was produced some time 
between 1510 and 1514, while the artist was at work in the 
Vatican. Call attention to the exquisite drawing of the 
mother’s hands and the arrangement of color masses. 


SUBJECT: The Song of the Lark—(Art Institute, Chicago) 

ARTIST: Jules Breton—(French) 

(Zhueel Bray tong’) 

French peasants are farm people who work in the fields. 
The young girl in this picture is a peasant. She is strong and 
healthy and full of life. She has to get up early in the morn- 

Page ten 


ing while the sun is rising and the dew is on the grass. She 
will work hard all day in the freshly plowed field. 

Just as she arrives in the field she hears a lark singing in 
the sky. Her parted lips show that she is listening intently. 
She fancies that the lark is welcoming her. His sweet song 
fills her with happiness that helps her and makes her work 
easy the whole day long. 


Note: This painting is an impressive example of the hap¬ 
pier side of labor. The effect of sunlight coming from behind 
the figure affords an interesting element for study. The light 
on the sickle and along the girl’s arm and the shadow on her 
feet show that the sun is behind her. The harmony of color 
between the sky and bare ground and between the girl’s apron 
and distant grass may be introduced for discussion. Ask the 
class what color they consider the girl’s waist to be. If white, 
compare it with the margin of the picture. An interesting 
experiment in this connection would be to cut a hole in a 
piece of white paper and place the opening over a part of the 
waist. 


SUBJECT: Master Hare 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Sir Joshua Reynolds—(English) 

This is a picture of a little boy who was called “Master 
Hare,” because it was proper to call a boy “Master” until he 
was old enough to be called “Mister.” At the time Sir Joshua 
Reynolds lived, little boys dressed about the same as little 
girls. 

Notice the purple sash and the low-necked dress. The lit¬ 
tle boy’s arm is raised because he has just asked a question 
about something in the distance, and he is listening to the 
artist’s answer. He looks so natural and interested that it 
must have been like playing a game to pose for Sir Joshua. 
The picture was painted out-of-doors, as you will see by the 
trees and sky. 

Note: Sir Joshua began painting at the age of twelve, 
when, on a piece of sail cloth, he produced a passable portrait 
of a local schoolmaster. Although a bachelor, he loved chil- 

Page eleven 


dren intensely, holding such sway over them with his conjur¬ 
ing tricks and amusing stories that the ordeal of posing be¬ 
came a coveted delight. His popularity with little folk no 
doubt explains the success he had in portraying them. “Master 
Hare” belongs to his early period, having been executed about 
1758. Practically the same points of note may be mentioned 
as in the “Age of Innocence,” a comparison of the two ex¬ 
amples being advisable. 


SUBJECT: Mme. Le Brun and Her Daughter 

(The Louvre, Paris) 

ARTIST: Mme. Le Brun—(French) 


Pictures of real people, like “Master Hare” and the “Chil¬ 
dren of Charles I,” are called portraits. When an artist paints 
a portrait of himself or herself, we call it a self-portrait. This 
picture is a self-portrait and it was painted by a great woman 
artist. She was a French woman named Mme. Le Brun. 
Here she has painted herself embracing her daughter. 

It is tender and affectionate. The arms of both mother 
and daughter make beautiful curves, very much like those in 
the picture of the “Madonna of the Chair.” The hair band 
and sash are of the same color. The greenish skirt is almost 
the same as the color at the back of the picture. We call this 
part the background. 


Note: In a “self-portrait,” the artist poses before a mir¬ 
ror, alternately glancing and turning to the canvas, and mak¬ 
ing deft, rapid strokes of the impression received. The dif¬ 
ficulty in this particular instance is naturally intensified by the 
double pose which is so beautifully united into one. The flesh, 
compared with the white garment, and both in relation to the 
white paper, are important features. The noble theme of the 
picture, the gracious expression of mother love, are, however, 
the most noteworthy elements for discussion. 


Page twelve 


SUBJECT : Dance of the Nymphs—(Louvre, Paris) 

ARTIST: Jean Baptiste Camille Corot—(French) 

(Zhong Bah teesf Ka mee’ya Cor o') 

Here is a picture that is very different from a portrait. 
(Who remembers what a portrait is?) This is a landscape, 
a picture of the out-of-doors. The wonderful shady trees make 
a cool place for fairies to dance. These are wood fairies, 
called wood nymphs. All they ever do is just to act happy, 
dancing on the grass and playing hide-and-seek around the 
trees. 

The artist, Corot, used to paint his pictures early in the 
morning before the sun was up, and all his paintings look 
fresh and soft and fairy-like. The trees have lovely shapes 
and the spaces between them are just as beautiful. 


Note: In this famous picture, the cool, refreshing char¬ 
acteristics of Corot’s landscapes are typically illustrated. 
The lofty pattern of leafage outlined against the sky, possesses 
a charm which even first grade children can be made to feel. 
Point out the idyllic quality expressed in the scene, and the 
sense of atmosphere that the artist has transferred to the 
canvas. 


SUBJECT: Madonna and Child 

(National Gallery, London) 

ARTIST: Sandro Botticelli—(Italian) 

(Sahndro Bot ti chel'ly) 

This is a beautiful picture of a Madonna and child. It is 
quite different from the “Madonna of the Chair,” because it is 
painted by a different artist. Many Italian painters who lived 
about the time Columbus discovered America, painted Ma¬ 
donnas and children. (Madonna is the Italian word for “holy 
mother”). This was because so many churches were being 
built, and the people wanted them decorated with beautiful 
paintings. 

The Botticelli Madonna sits very solemnly thinking of her 
wonderful baby boy. His little arm touches her gently as he 
looks lovingly into her face. The drape on her head is a fine 

Page thirteen 


color. It is wrapped daintily about the baby’s knees. The 
landscape seen from window at the left helps to make the 
picture beautiful. 


Note: The design in this work is conventional, and it is 
rendered in the simple, flat representation of the time, effects 
of contrast being the artist’s chief aim. Children are always 
sympathetic with the primitives because of their emphasis of 
the pattern, and their disregard of the third dimension. Their 
work is elemental and naive, and, therefore, easy to com¬ 
prehend. 




Page fourteen 


Grade Two 


SUBJECT: The Annunciation 

(Convent of San Marco, Florence) 

ARTIST: Fra Angelico—(Italian) 

This picture is not shiny like an oil painting. Long before 
oil paints were used, it was made on the wall of a building in 
Florence, Italy, with colored powders mixed in water (Tem- 
pora). Pictures painted on walls are called frescoes, so this 
is a fresco. 

The artist was a monk who never accepted money for his 
work. He was a very religious man, so good and kind that 
his friends named him “Fra Angelico/” which means “brother 
of the angels/' He painted this fresco for the wall of his own 
monastery. 

It is the story of an angel coming to tell Mary that she is 
to be the mother of Jesus. Pictures telling this story are 
called “The Annunciation.” Holy people are usually painted 
with a halo, as in the picture. The dresses of these holy peo¬ 
ple are very beautiful in color and shape. 


Note: Outstanding in the works of Fra Angelico is their 
sincere devotional spirit, reflecting the artist’s own religious 
fervor. A certain naive charm is the result, and, though ex¬ 
ecuted in the manner of the early masters, the message of de¬ 
tachment and purity holds a universal appeal. The sweetness 
of a “Fra Angelico angel” is proverbial. Even his name, 
bestowed upon him by brother monks, bespeaks his saintly life. 

The fresco method of picture making, whereby tempera 
pigments are applied to wet plaster, preceded the invention of 
oil painting. After five centuries the hues of this celebrated 
example have dimmed very little. Particularly important for 
class study are the colors and the rendering of the robes of the 
two figures. 


Page fifteen 


SUBJECT:—The Dead Bird—(Louvre, Paris) 

ARTIST: Jean Baptiste Greuze—(French) 

(Grerz ) 

This is a sad picture because the lovely young girl has 
found her bird dead. She raises one hand in surprise and 
holds the other lovingly above her poor little pet. What beau¬ 
tiful hands they are, and how graceful! 

We do not see very many colors in the picture. The girl’s 
hair is about the same color as the bird cage and table. Her 
dress and scarf hang in pretty folds. Greuze is noted for his 
pictures of sweet-faced young girls and he always made their 
clothes soft and flowing, as in this picture. 


Note: Aside from the sentimental appeal, which is ever 
present in a Greuze production, “The Dead Bird” reveals an 
admirable quality of harmonious color relations. The beauty 
and grace of the fingers, the flow of drapery, the soft luster of 
the hair (echoing the reds in table and cage), as well as the 
sympathetic treatment, may be stressed in a work of this char¬ 
acter. In the analysis show the children the contrast between 
the light figure and the dark background. 


SUBJECT: Virgin and Infant Jesus 

(Pitti Palace, Florence) 

ARTIST: Murillo—(Spanish) 

(Muir eel'yo) 

Many beautiful religious pictures have been painted by 
Spanish artists. Murillo, one of the greatest of these, spent his 
life painting religious subjects and gave to the world some of 
the most beautiful pictures of the Virgin and child. People 
have always loved his paintings because they are very plain 
and simple, yet rich in color. 

There are several different kinds of blue in this picture. 
The blue in the background is mixed with green. The bench 
is almost the same color. The pink dress of the mother is 
bright and clear against the darker tones. 

The light behind the baby’s head is like the circles behind 
the heads in Fra Angelico’s “Annunciation.” We see that 

Page sixteen 


kind of light in pictures of holy people. It looks as if the 
goodness inside of them is shining out. 


Note: The marvel of the blue coloring in this work is out¬ 
standing. The elusive melting of the blue drapery into the 
green-blue background, with a repetition of the lighter green- 
blue in the bench, create a color motif of the highest order. 
The popular practice of utilizing every day characters for the 
subject of religious pictures is demonstrated here. Though 
glorified in accord with the theme, this mother and her baby 
might have been observed in any Spanish doorway. The 
naturalness of the child’s pose, the gracious dignity of the 
mother, and the sincere intention of the picture should form 
the basis of class discussion. 


SUBJECT: The Market Cart 

(National Gallery, London) 

ARTIST: Thomas Gainsborough—(English) 

{Gaynes' bur o) 

This landscape was painted by an English artist who was 
a close friend of Sir Joshua Reynolds who painted “The Age 
of Innocence” and “Master Hare.” Gainsborough used to 
make a great many portraits, but he also painted landscapes*. 
He gives us a glimpse of English country life in this picture. 

The farming people are - taking their fruits and vegetables 
to the market. The horses will pull the market cart over the 
meadow, through the little brook, and past the big trees until 
they reach the road to town. The dogs are having a happy 
time, barking as they run. We can tell at what time of year 
the picture was painted by the color of the trees. Doesn’t 
the cloud look beautiful in the background? 


Note: The time of year should be quite evident in this 
work, and, with it as an illustration, the class should be en¬ 
couraged to observe the changing effects of the seasons upon 
nature. The typical English scene with its little brook and 
venerable trees should be studied as a lesson in local color. 
An example of rustic industry is expressed in the marketing 
of the fruits of the soil, centered in the rural cart which is the 
subject of the picture. 


Page seventeen 


SUBJECT: The Horse Fair 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Rosa Bonheur—(French) 

(Bun ur) 

These splendid horses were painted by the most famous 
woman artist in the world. She was a French woman, like 
Madame LeBrun, who painted the portrait of herself and 
daughter. When people saw “The Horse Fair” they w r ould 
not believe that it had been done by a woman. They thought 
that such a large picture with so many strong horses in it 
would surely need a man’s hand to paint it. 

Rosa Bonheur dressed in men’s clothes so she could visit 
the horse markets without being noticed, because only men 
did the horse trading. She studied the horses when they were 
standing still and while they were galloping and trotting. 
That is why they look so real. They are stamping and toss¬ 
ing their manes and trying to keep the men from putting on 
their bridles to lead them to the selling stalls. 


Note: First exhibited in 1853, this picture established its 
author in the foremost ranks of animal painters. The restive 
temper of the horses always attracts the attention of a child, 
the various manifestations of action in the different animals 
forming points for study. That Rosa Bonheur dressed in 
men’s attire, in order to visit the markets unobserved, is a 
never ending source of interest to young people, as is also 
the fact that she is the most celebrated woman artist the 
world has ever known. “The Horse Fair” has been sold a 
great many times. It was brought to this country from France 
and sold to Cornelius Vanderbilt who gave it to the Metro¬ 
politan Museum in New York. 


SUBJECT: Among the Lowly 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: L’Hermitte—(French) 

(Lehr meat’) 

The people in this picture are very poor, but they are 
honest and good, and Jesus has come into the room to bless 

Page eighteen 


them. His blessing is given to the old as well as to the young. 
They sit in awe at sight of the holy visitor. A light from the 
open door and through the glass window fills the room. It is 
a soft, mellow light. 

L’Hermitte has painted a great many poor people like 
these. His pictures always show sympathy for the poor and 
make us feel very friendly toward them, too. 


Note: This picture illustrates the blessings of the humble 
cottager, despite his frugal material comforts. The expres¬ 
sion of reverence and awe in the various faces is in keeping 
with the spirit of the theme. The color is so carefully handled 
as to give the subtle, indefinite quality to the picture, in ac¬ 
cord with the subject. Draw attention to the diffused light 
enveloping the figures. 


SUBJECT: Nellie O’Brien 

(Wallace Collection, London) 

ARTIST: Sir Joshua Reynolds —(English) 

Sir Joshua Reynolds liked to paint pictures with an out-of- 
door effect, as he has done in this portrait of Nellie O’Brien. 
The background shows trees and foliage with the sun shining 
through in an interesting way. 

See how nicely the light places in the pink skirt show the 
lines of quilting. The skirt is silk, but it is thick and stiff, like 
a bed quilt. We can tell this by the way the folds stand out 
round, instead of falling against the body. The striped scarf 
is the same color as the dog, but you can see the difference be¬ 
tween the shine of silk in the scarf and the fluffy fur of the 
dog. 

The black lace on the woman’s arm shows the skin through 
it. When materials in a picture are painted to look as they do 
in real life, we call it the painting of textures. In looking at 
other pictures, try to see whether the textures have been 
well done. 


Note: Here is another example of spontaneous painting, 
one of the most unstudied performances that Reynolds ever 
did. He was famous for this type of background. “Nellie 

Page nineteen 


O’Brien was probably painted out-of-doors. At least the light 
effects are out-of-door ones, not the conventionalized land¬ 
scapes so commonly used as backgrounds by other painters of 
the period. Reynolds was the founder of the so-called “Eng¬ 
lish School of Portraiture.” 


SUBJECT: Madonna, Jesus, and St. John 

(Louvre, Paris) 

ARTIST: Botticelli—(Italian) 

Some of you may remember having seen a picture by Bot¬ 
ticelli called “Madonna and Child.” Here is another Madonna 
by the same artist, but there are two children in the picture 
instead of one. The boy standing back of the Madonna and 
baby Jesus is St. John. He has a halo like the Madonna’s. 
His hands are drawn beautifully and the hand holding the 
shepherd’s staff is carefully placed behind the other one. 

The Madonna’s hands are also drawn with great skill. 
You can feel them clasped around the body of the baby. Only 
a few fingers of the right hand show because the baby is rest¬ 
ing firmly in the palm of the mother’s hand. This is the way 
the artist gives the effect of weight. 

Thin stuffs like the pink drape and the white veil were 
always painted wonderfully by this artist. 


Note: Attention in this picture should be drawn to the 
delightful tracery of flowers and leafage against the sky, and 
to the transparency of the gauze head-dress and the haloes 
behind the heads of the children. The unity of the group, one 
figure overlapping another, is an important note for observa¬ 
tion. The rich blue of the mother’s mantle in relation to the 
soft reds of the costumes is happily selected. The hands of 
the mother and the crossed hands of the young St. John dis¬ 
play exquisite draughtsmanship. The cleanings of the can¬ 
vas have caused the loss of some of its original drawing. 
The colors, however, remain as bright today as when executed. 


Page twenty 


SUBJECT: The Angelus —(Louvre, Paris) 

ARTIST: Jean Francois Millet —(French) 

{Zhong Frahng swah Mee yay) 

This is a very well known picture and one of the finest ever 
painted. 

Millet was a peasant himself, and he painted peasants bet¬ 
ter than any other artist. He knew how hard it is to dig pota¬ 
toes all day, as these people have been doing. And he knew 
how pious the peasants are, always stopping to pray when 
the bells of the Angelus ring at twilight. These peasants have 
dropped their tools and stand very still with lowered heads, 
praying, as they hear the bells ringing from the church spire 
in the distance. The shadows of night are falling and the 
Angelus is a benediction at the close of the day. It tells them 
that the hour of rest is near. 


Note: Despite the most pitiful conditions of poverty and 
poor health, Millet managed to execute such canvases as today 
(fifty years after his death) command fabulous prices. “The 
Angelus” was painted in the midst of suffering from excru¬ 
ciating headaches induced by lack of food. The artist received 
$200.00 for the picture and its last sale netted $160,000.00. 
Although not bitter nor pessimistic, this painting, like all of 
Millet’s work, depicts the unremitting toil of the peasant. 
The dignity, the tragedy, the truth of labor is nowhere more 
eloquently portrayed. 

The hushed hour of evening is pictured in the softening glow 
of the sky, against which the figures stand in statuesque 
relief. The reverent postures of the two devout peasants show 
that they are listening to the ringing of “The Angelus” bells 
in the distant spire. The pitchfork at the left and the hori¬ 
zontal line of the wheelbarrow at the right form units of in¬ 
terest filling up the lower spaces of the picture. Attention 
should be called to the effect of the figures silhouetted against 
the fading light, and the children should be informed that the 
Angelus is the vesper prayer which people in the rural dis¬ 
tricts of France repeat when the bell rings at twilight. It is 
a universal custom among the peasants to cross themselves 
and utter the prayer when they hear the bell. 


Page twenty-one 


SUBJECT: Bridge on the Stour 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: John Constable—(English) 

The “Bridge on the Stour” is a scene in rural England. It 
was painted by the first great landscape painter of England, 
John Constable. Before Constable’s time, artists used to paint 
their landscapes mostly in brown colors. But he showed them 
how to use greens and yellows, like the trees and flowers as 
they really were. At first people made fun of him for this 
and called his pictures “eggs and spinach.” 

The trees in this picture are not very green, but they are 
much greener than the kind that artists had been painting 
before. Besides, we can see red roofs of houses and blue in 
the sky. The water is so still that objects are reflected in it, 
just as in a mirror. 


Note: John Constable was the first English artist to break 
away from the conventionalized form of landscape painting. 
He painted direct from nature instead of using the old-fash¬ 
ioned method of building a picture from a drawing. Painters 
had used browns almost exclusively. Other artists were 
shocked when Constable refused to put in the customary 
brown tree, because he said he did not see a brown tree and, 
therefore, would paint only the green tree that he did see. 

In the “Bridge on the Stour,” the trees are a soft, warm 
green. The sky is downy with floating clouds, which, with 
the bridge and embankment, mirror themselves in the river. 
In the arch of the bridge and its reflection there is the effect 
of looking into a hollow cylinder, which may be demonstrated 
by means of a tumbler or large ring. (This will help to cor¬ 
relate the appearance of related forms in nature.) 


Page twenty-two 


Grade Three 


SUBJECT: Wolf and Fox Hunt 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Peter Paul Rubens —(Flemish) 

The original picture of the “Wolf and Fox Hunt” is about 
as large as the side of a room. Rubens enjoyed painting large 
pictures with a number of people in them. He is most famous 
for his rich color and for the sweeping lines of his drawing 
which make the figures look round and full. The animals are 
very well drawn, and the whole picture is full of action. The 
wolf and fox hunt was a favorite sport in Europe at the time 
this artist lived. 

Notice the hunter’s horn and the old-fashioned spears. 
The two figures at the right are Rubens and his wife. It was 
the fashion, at one time, for artists to include themselves or 
members of their family in their pictures. 


Note: This is a canvas eight by twelve and a half feet 
in dimension. The sense of action, with the balance of mass, 
which forms a definite pattern, are elements of interest that 
the child can comprehend. The warmth of color in a Rubens 
picture is adequately demonstrated here. The leading char¬ 
acteristic of Ruben’s drawing may be observed in the animals 
as well as in the people—voluptuousness of form, expressed 
through an exaggeration of muscle and body line. 


SUBJECT: Young Girl Peeling Apples 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Nicholas Maes— (Dutch) 

(Mahss) 

This picture is not a portrait because it does not represent 
any special person. It shows us how any Dutch girl looked 

Page twenty-three 


at her work in the time when Maes was living. The artist has 
painted the girl in such a way as to make us feel the industry 
and quietness and beauty of her life. Imaginary things and 
real things are in the picture. The shadows are like velvet. 
The colors are soft, but the outlines are clear. Notice the 
curved line of the table top and the fold of the table cover. 

Note: The characteristics of this picture place it in the 
class known as genre. It is not the likeness.of any individual, 
but a type. It is a subject of universal appeal because of the 
story of home life that it tells. The artist has not tried to 
show a kitchen, but instead an idealization of a kitchen with 
the homely tasks involved. The most striking thing in the 
picture is its apparently artless composition. Yet each object 
displayed has a particular value in relation to the picture as a 
whole. Observe the way in which the fold of the table cover 
breaks the otherwise awkward line of the girl’s skirt. The 
basket of apples at her left has been introduced for the same 
purpose. The space in the lower right hand corner is broken 
by the interesting form of the bucket. Let the children trace 
the pattern in the air with their pencils and see what a beauti¬ 
ful rhythmic line it makes. The variety of reds are of strik¬ 
ing interest. 


SUBJECT : Arabs on the March 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Adolf Schreyer—-(German) 

( Shry’er ) 

The people in this picture are dark skinned Arabs. They 
are dressed in fine clothes and their horses are decorated with 
fancy trappings because they are traveling to the city. . 

Horses look proud and step high when they are wearing 
bright harnesses. They have only a little farther to go as 
shown by the wall of the town and the dome of the temple in 
the background. The man on the white horse looks like a 
chief. He carries his gun very straight. 


Note: Picturesque Moorish types were frequent subjects 
of Schreyer’s colorful brush. In the discussion of this picture, 
numerous phases of color relations will absorb the class. 
Have them point out all the reds, for example; then the 

Page twenty-four 


blues. The relief of the figure in middle distance against the 
faintly hued wall is a feature of note, as is also the splendid 
white horse and rider in the foreground. Why the figures in 
the foreground are larger than those behind is a simple illu¬ 
stration of perspective which should be observed. Note the 
foreshortening of the black horse in the distance compared 
with the full Side view of the white one in the foreground. 


SUBJECT: Edge of the Woods 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Theodore Rousseau—(French) 

(Roo so') 

This is the kind of landscape for which the artist Rousseau 
is celebrated. It is true to nature. It is painted in a simple 
way. All the details are there but they are subdued, for the 
lengthened shadows show us that it is near the end of the day, 
when all objects melt into the soft light of evening. 

Notice the edge of the big tree against the sky. It looks 
like lace. It is probably a grand old oak tree that stood in 
the famous forest of Fontainebleu near Paris where the artist 
did so much of his painting. The town of Barbizon in which 
Rousseau lived is in this forest, which was the favorite hunt¬ 
ing ground of the French kings. 

Rousseau was one of the important members of a club of 
artists who lived in the little town of Barbizon. Millet and 
Corot were prominent members of the group. There were 
eight altogether. Most of them were very poor, hardly 
having enough to eat, but they were always willing to share 
any good fortune with one another. 


Note: With a rare insight into the very heart of nature’s 
beauty and a loftiness of interpretation which imparts to his 
canvases both poetry and realism, Rousseau stands out as one 
of the giant figures of the Barbizon School. 

The creed of the School was to be realistic. Its artists did 
not paint according to the popular fancies of the clay. Their 
sincerity of purpose was reflected in the work of the group 
as a whole. 

The “Edge of the Woods” is practically a two-tone prob¬ 
lem, the russet greens of ground and trees occupying about 

Page twenty-five 


three-fifths of the picture area. The balancing of the bits of 
brown in this mass breaks the monotony. The lightness and 
buoyancy of the clouds should be a topic of consideration. 


SUBJECT: Ishmael —(Luxembourg Gallery, Paris) 

ARTIST: Jean Charles Cazin —(French) 

(Kuh zan) 

This picture is about the Bible story of Ishmael and Hagar, 
his mother. They had been turned out of their home and were 
wandering in the wilderness of Beersheba. Hagar thought 
that her boy was going to die for want of water, so she planned 
to walk away from him, in order not to see him die. She cried 
bitterly as she bade him good-bye. The artist has painted this 
scene. Later, of course, an angel appeared who told Hagar 
that her boy would not die, but would be blessed by the Lord 
and become the leader of the nation. A well opened before 
her and Ishmael had plenty of water to drink. 


Note: Aside from the story-telling element in this picture, 
there is much of technical value for class consideration. The 
mellowness of coloring is a leading characteristic of the author’s 
brush. The gray notes in the woman’s garment and the cloth 
on the ground are repeated in the sky. The distribution of 
rich yellows, in figures, sky and shrubbery is noteworthy. 
The subtlety of gradations is the outstanding feature of the 
color scheme. The barren sand dunes and lack of vegetation 
are symbolic of their desolate situation. In tracing the pat¬ 
tern, note that the figures unite the two masses of green gray 
foliage in the picture. 


SUBJECT: Viscount Althorp 

(Spencer Collection, London) 

ARTIST: Sir Joshua Reynolds—(English) 

Here is one of the delightful child portraits for which Rey¬ 
nolds was so famous. Viscount Althorp was only four years 
old when this was painted. He was dressed in his new white 

Page twenty-six 


suit and stood listening to a fairy story the artist was telling 
him while he worked. The boy looks as if he were just stop- 
ing for a moment and would soon walk on. His blue sash and 
black hat were considered very fine. 


Note: The sense of arrested motion, as if the child had 
paused but a moment on his way, is conspicuous in the easy 
pose of this young nobleman. The blue of the sash balances 
the blue of the sky. The touches of black in the hat and shoes 
give character to the color scheme. Note the varying shades. 
The pupils may recognize the characteristics of Reynold's 
background. He probably used an outdoor scene from the 
ancestral home of the subject. This picture affords an inter¬ 
esting study in pattern. The introduction of the boy's hat fills 
the space between the tree and sky. 


SUBJECT: Boy With a Sword 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Eduard Manet—(French) 

(Aid oo ar Man ay) 

The boy in this picture is carrying a sword that is almost 
as large as he is. It probably belongs to his father, but he is 
having a lot of fun with it, pretending to be a general. The 
sword makes a nice shape in the picture. The trousers, the 
background and the sword are all brown, so they go together 
well. The green-blue stockings and white collar brighten the 
picture and make the browns stand out better. 


Note: The “most lifelike in contemporary art," Manet's 
figures have been called, and the “Boy with a Sword" is re¬ 
garded as one of his most important examples. It reveals him 
as a splendid colorist whose design is as vigorous as the tech¬ 
nique is masterly. The influence of Hals, Goya and Velasquez 
may be observed. The picture is a study in tonality. Draw 
the pupil's attention to the placement of the figure in the 
center of the canvas. The equal spaces on either side would 
make the pattern commonplace were it not for the introduction 
of the sword which breaks the space artistically. 


Page twenty-seven 


SUBJECT: St. Anne—(Louvre, Paris) 

ARTIST: Leonardo Da Vinci—(Italian) 

(Lay o nardo dah Virichy) 

This beautiful head is only a part of the whole picture. In 
the original painting, the baby Jesus and Mary, His mother, 
•are also shown. The head of St. Anne is so lovely, however, 
that we often show it alone. Notice how the light and shade 
melt into one another, without a perceptible outline. 

The most noticeable thing in this picture, and in many of 
Leonardo's other paintings is the strange smile. People have 
often tried to describe it. How would you describe it? 


Note: This picture is only a fragment of the original 
painting which includes the full seated figure of St. Anne, with 
the Virgin and the infant Jesus forming the group. The dark 
spot in the lower right hand corner is a portion of Mary’s head, 
as she reaches down to the Child standing beside her. The 
haunting smile, so characteristic of Leonardo’s brush, is here 
exquisitely portrayed. This smile is often spoken of as “that 
elusive smile of da Vinci.” But the artist did not aim to paint 
elusive mystery. He wished to convey the sweetness of ex¬ 
pression and loving thought of motherhood. 


SUBJECT: The Gleaners—(The Louvre, Paris) 

ARTIST: Jean Francois Millet—(French) 

(Zhong Frahng swah Mee *yay ) 

In this picture Millet shows the peasants at work in the 
field as the “Angelus” does. And it makes us understand their 
lives of toil. The picture is very simple. The figures are en¬ 
veloped in the soft warm tones of late summer when the 
harvest is gathered. 

The artist has rendered the colors in such a wonderful way 
that we get the feeling of a hot summer day when we look at 
the picture. We know that the peasant women are following 
the men who are loading the cart seen in the distance, and 
are gathering the little sheaves. of wheat which have fallen 
from the cart. Notice the women’s sunburned hands, knotted 
with hard labor. 


Page twenty-eight 


Note: The epic grandeur of this canvas is self descriptive. 
Millet was so imbued with the spirit of labor that he was able 
to depict the hardships of the peasant with unerring precision. 
Millet said: “A peasant I was born, a peasant I will die. 
I paint things as I see them.” 

The monotony of the horizon is broken by the introduc¬ 
tion of the haystack, cart and the cap of the standing figure. 
The figures are united by means of the shadow on the ground 
and by the sheaves of wheat. The composition of the whole 
group is graceful, yet vital—and graphically depicts the never 
ending labor of the peasant. 

Painted for the Salon of 1857, “The Gleaners” created an 
instant sensation. The nine preliminary drawings for this 
canvas show the careful preparation of the artist. This 
thought might enlarge the child’s understanding of an artist’s 
sincerity. The rhythm of the three figures in similar poses is 
of interest. The pattern will delight the children because of 
its simplicity. 


SUBJECT: Souvenir of Italy—(The Louvre, Paris) 

ARTIST: Jean Baptiste Camille Corot—(French) 

(Zhong Bah teest ' Ka mee ya Cor o') 

Have you ever brought home a souvenir from some place 
that you have visited? That is what Corot has done. But 
he has painted a picture instead of bringing another kind of 
souvenir. The picture is his remembrance of Italy. The 
buildings in the distance are dimly outlined and have a pearly 
color in the light of the setting sun. Corot liked to paint at 
twilight and in the early morning. This picture shows a 
beautiful Italian scene, painted with the soft coloring of night¬ 
fall. 


Note: If ever the disposition and temperament of an in¬ 
dividual has been reflected in his creative expression, the can¬ 
vases of the sweet, kindly, happy natured “Papa Corot” surely 
breathe the spirit of the man. Fortune was kind to him, since 
he had sufficient means to supply his own frugal wants and 
was also able to assist his indigent artist friend. His life 
was tranquil and this tranquility was reflected in his land¬ 
scapes. 


Page twenty-nine 


Grade Four 


SUBJECT: Madonna Del Granduca 

(Pitti Palace, Florence) 

ARTIST: Raphael Sanzio—(Italian) 

This is one of the famous Madonnas by Raphael who 
painted the “Madonna of the Chair.” A beautiful woman 
posed for this picture. She has a sweet, motherly expression, 
and the kindness of her heart seems to show in her eyes. 

Study the color of the mother’s cape, and the color of the 
background. Cover up the background and look at the cape. 
It will seem much bluer. The white cloth around the baby’s 
waist emphasizes the color of his flesh. 

A number of wealthy people owned the original of this 
picture. In 1799 the Grand Duke of Tuscany (in Italy) 
bought it. He loved it so much that he carried it with him 
wherever he went. That is why the picture is now called 
Madonna Del Granduca. (Granduca means Grand Duke.) 


Note: Of all the Madonnas ever painted, this is said to 
express the greatest purity of soul. The perfection of features, 
no less than the chaste charm of demeanor, holds the attention. 

The picture is a study in ovals. The contours of the heads, 
the oval of the child’s body, and the unity of the two figures, 
developed by the exquisite placing of the hands and arms, will 
afford the class an unusual opportunity for tracing the cardinal 
lines of the composition. The subtle merging of the drapery 
into the background, thus wrapping the figure in an “envelope- 
ment” of atmosphere, might be mentioned in the discussion. 
Be sure to trace the halo which is purposely broken at the 
top of the picture to emphasize the oval motive. 


Page thirty 


SUBJECT: Portrait of a Woman 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Frans Hals—(Dutch) 

(Frahnss Hahlz) 


When this picture was painted it was the fashion for 
women to let their hair hang down over their shoulders and 
to wear little tight caps on the tops of their heads. They also 
wore very full skirts and large sleeves and white lace collars 
and cuffs. 

This Dutch lady has been painted by the artist to look 
exactly as she did in real life. Hals is noted for making the 
people in his pictures look alive. He drew the characteristics 
of each person so truly that no two of his pictures look the 
same. He painted with quick strokes and never changed his 
drawings. Notice the similarity in color between the skirt and 
the bright glow of the sky in the background. 


Note: Searching characterization is the dominant reason 
for the exalted position of Frans Hals among the portrait 
painters of all time. He was really the first of the moderns. 
His ability to record the humanness of a subject was accom¬ 
panied by a dash and certainty of brush which has never been 
surpassed in portraiture. His dexterity and unerring facility 
to transfer to the canvas his insight into the character of a 
sitter have been the envy and admiration of artists since his 
day. He never repainted, but made his first impression final. 
This combination of technique and interpretation make him 
one of the most vital painters in the history of art. 

Explain to the children that the costume is that of a woman 
of the Dutch aristocracy in the middle of the 17th Century 
(about 1640). The stately columns in the background and the 
outline of the distant spires against the setting sun tell the 
story of the woman’s rank and place in the social life of the 
city. Backgrounds reflecting the characteristic life of the sit¬ 
ter were used by the Dutch School and later by Sir Joshua 
Reynolds who founded the so-called English School. 


Page thirty-one 


SUBJECT: Christopher Columbus 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Sebastiano Del Piombo—(Italian) 

(Say bahs ti ahno dell Pee om’ bo) 

The artist who painted this picture probably knew Christ¬ 
opher Columbus because it shows the strong determination 
and courage of the explorer in a most intimate way. The eyes 
are kind, but piercing. The mouth is firm. The skin is dark 
brown, showing exposure to the sun and winds. The picture 
also shows the costume which men wore in those days—the 
low necked pleated shirt with loose cuffs, and the curious hat. 
Men’s hair was worn long over the ears. 

When portraits were painted in the early days, artists 
sometimes put the name of the person in the upper part of 
the picture, as well as the date. This, you will observe, has 
been done here. 


Note: This picture, according to the inscription at the 
top, was executed thirteen years after the death of Columbus. 
It is likely that the artist saw Columbus, and it is possible 
Michael Angelo gave him assistance in the work. Piombo was 
a protege of Michael Angelo, who sometimes made founda¬ 
tion drawings for him to color. Although considerably sub¬ 
dued in portraiture, as this example shows, Piombo’s coloring 
was of a superior order, since he had been schooled by the 
Venetians. His correct name was Sebastiano Luciani (loo chi 
ahn’y) but was changed late in life to Piotnbo when he took 
holy orders. 

There is ample opportunity for study in placement, balance, 
and gradations of color in this picture, and the painted whites, 
in their relative values should constantly be kept in mind. 


SUBJECT: Entrance to a Dutch Port 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Willem Van De Velde—(Dutch) 

This picture is typical of the Netherlands at the time when 
the Dutch were the greatest sea traders and when their har¬ 
bors were filled with boats of all kinds. There are beautiful 

Page thirty-two 


harbors in the Netherlands, especially in Holland. The coun¬ 
try is low so it has to be drained by canals and by dikes that 
hold back the sea both in calm and in stormy weather. 

The Dutch artist who painted this picture knew the life of 
the harbors and he painted ships perfectly. He sat close to the 
shore as he painted this picture, so the strip of water looks 
narrow, with the horizon on a level with the eye. Notice how 
beautifully the clouds have been drawn, and how the boats 
have been painted to show their distance from the shore. The 
boats in the foreground are larger and darker than those in 
the distance. The farther they are from the eye, the lighter 
and smaller they appear. 


Note: The sense of space in this picture is as convincing 
as the suggestion of the prosperous sea mart. The various 
devices employed in giving the feeling of distance are inter¬ 
esting. Not the least of these is the admirable aerial per¬ 
spective observed in the graying of hulls as they diminish in 
size. It may be explained to the class that the intervening 
space between the object and the person looking at it appears 
fainter and fainter as the distance increases. 


SUBJECT: Marriage of St. Catharine—(Louvre, Paris) 

ARTIST: Antonio Corregio—(Italian) 

(Cor edge y o) 

In this picture the artist tells the story of Catherine, Queen 
of Alexandria, who became a Saint. She was not married 
because none of the princes who were brought to her met 
with her approval. One night she dreamed that the Virgin 
Mary came to her with the baby Jesus in her arms. It seemed 
to Catherine that this holy Child was to be her future husband 
but He turned away from her because she was not converted. 
Then she went to learn about religion from a Christian hermit, 
and was baptized. After that the Madonna and Child again 
appeared to her in a dream, and this time, the baby placed a 
ring upon her finger. When she awoke from her dream, she 
was happy to find the ring really there. 

Many artists have painted pictures of St. Catherine receiv¬ 
ing the ring from her heavenly Bridegroom. In this painting 
St. Christopher is shown standing behind St. Catherine. All 

Page thirty-three 


the hands are exquisitely painted. There are two groups of 
figures joined by the hands and the black mantle over the 
mother’s shoulder. The background shows that the story is 
a dream. 


Note: Vasari, the inimitable chronicler of the art of his 
day, wrote concerning Corregio: '‘There never was a better 
colorist, nor any artist who imparted more loveliness or relief 
to his things, so great was the soft beauty of his flesh tints 
and the grace of his finish. His was the mission of absorbing 
and uniting the masterly drawing of Mantegna, the heroic 
feeling for design of Michael Angelo, and the conquest of light 
and shade of Leonardo, to all of which he added his own in¬ 
spired color sense. Though the “Marriage of St. Catherine” 
does not represent the luminous quality for which his palette 
is famed, its more restrained chromatic arrangement is no less 
effective and should be an interesting problem for class study. 
Show how the two groups of figures are united. 


SUBJECT: Expectation 

(Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) 

ARTIST: Josef Israels—(Dutch) 

Millet’s pictures, “The Angelus” and “The Gleaners,” 
show French peasants at work. This picture shows the life of 
a Dutch peasant. The artist, Josef Israels, made a specialty 
of painting Dutch peasant life. The young housewife, seated 
at her sewing, looks very real as she works and waits for the 
fishermen to return from the boats at sea. 

The figure is sharply contrasted against the background be¬ 
cause of the light which falls from above upon the upper part 
of the body and feet. The background looks velvety and the 
whole picture is enveloped in air. This is done by the arrange¬ 
ment of light and shade. A velvety background like this is 
called “atmosphere.” 


Note: No other artist of modern times has quite struck 
the note of Dutch cottage life expressed by the brush of 
Josef Israels. Inheriting the science of chiaroscuro (light 
and shade) from his countrymen of the seventeenth century, 
he re-vivified their keenness of observation and directness of 

Page thirty-four 


expression and applied these to the contemporary setting. The 
sense of depth in the softly vibrant shadows of this celebrated 
canvas will, with a little guidance, make its appeal to the chil¬ 
dren. Another example of genre, or interior painting. 


SUBJECT: Portrait of a Woman 

(State Museum, Budapest) 

ARTIST: Thomas De Keyser—(Dutch) 

(d Kizer) 

This is a picture of a Holland woman living during the mid¬ 
dle of the seventeenth century. She looks very kindly and 
exactly as women did in her time. The artist has carefully 
painted her old-fashioned dress with fur on it and has made the 
fluted white ruff, the cap and lace cuffs look absolutely real. 
Some peasants in Europe to-day wear collars like this. They 
work for hours to make the fluting which is done by placing 
little straws under the collar and running a hot iron over it. 
The straws are bought in the shops, tied in small bundles. A 
person who poses for a portrait is spoken of as the “sitter.” 


Note: Thomas de Keyser was a contemporary of Rem¬ 
brandt and, although lacking the genius of the latter, was an 
able craftsman of a conscientious sort. His knowledge of form 
was exact and his delineation skillful. The Dutch painters 
were famous for their adherence to lifelike details without 
affecting the beauty and art of the picture as a whole. It is 
a difficult matter to present to children the distinction between 
the frankly “photographic” and an able rendition of detail. 
The one, which is dry and hard, lacks feeling and sympathy; 
the other possesses a sense of fullness, due to the proper rela¬ 
tion of values as they fit into the atmospheric scheme. The 
healthy, benevolent countenance of this subject is undoubtedly 
a faithful portrayal. 


SUBJECT: Avenue of Trees—(National Gallery, London) 

ARTIST: Meindert Hobbema—(Dutch) 

(Mine dirt Hob’ee mo) 

This is the favorite landscape of many people who love 
paintings, because of the interesting lines which the tall poplar 

Page thirty-jive 


trees make. The artist has arranged the trees on the side of 
the road so that it seems a long way to the end. Notice that 
the trees in front are the tallest and the farthest apart. The 
trees in the distance are shorter and closer together. The two 
lines of trees almost meet in the center of the picture. The 
tree tops look as feathery as the clouds. 

Upright lines, such as we see in the tall trees, we call 
lines of dignity . Horizontal lines, like the distant horizon in 
this picture, are called lines of repose , because the horizontal 
position is the one we take while sleeping. Oblique lines, like 
the lines of houses and the sides of the road, are called lines of 
action. This picture shows all three kinds of lines. 


Note: Bigness and the sense of boundless out-of-doors 
have been achieved in this work to a remarkable degree, de¬ 
spite the obviously formal arrangement. An exponent of 
naturalness, Hobbema influenced his successors in the field 
of landscape art, two English artists who patterned after him 
being Gainsborough and Constable. This picture offers a sat¬ 
isfactory study in perspective. 


SUBJECT: Virgin In Adoration (Detail) 

(Pitti Palace, Florence) 

ARTIST: Perugino Pietro Vannucci—(Italian) 

( Pear-oo-jeeno Pea-ate’ro Van-oo'chee) 

This picture is part of a larger picture. When parts or 
fragments of pictures are reproduced, they are called details . 
This beautiful Madonna is a detail from the large picture in 
the Pitti Palace, Florence, which also shows an angel with 
the Holy Child in its hands, standing at the right of the Ma¬ 
donna. 

The Madonna is adoring her child with great reverence. 
Notice the lovely combination of colors, and the way the red 
waist harmonizes with the green of the cloak. Mother love 
is shining in the Madonna’s face. The flesh is beautifully 
painted and the features are drawn with exquisite care. 


Note: It is somewhat of a challenge to the imagination 
perhaps, for children to picture mentally a portion of a com- 

Pngc thirty-six 


position that is not seen. The attitude of this Madonna, how- 
ever, so evidently shows the direction and object of her gaze 
that young people may be led to visualize the suggested por¬ 
tion. This is a similar treatment by the artist to his celebrated 
altar piece, a triptich, now in the National Museum of London. 
The pupils might be reminded of the different types of religious 
pamt m g s that have been so popular in the past, such as 
Madonnas, Holy Families, Annunciations, and pictures of 
saints. 


SUBJECT: Infanta Maria Theresa 

(Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) 

ARTIST: Diego Rodriguez de y Velasquez (Spanish) 

(Dee ay’ go Rod ree gaze Ve las’ keth) 

Imagine wearing such a tight bodice and clumsy hoop 
skirt! We would not do it now-a-days, but in olden times such 
a costume was considered very beautiful. This young princess, 
or infanta, as Spanish princesses are called, was dressed in 
the most elegant clothes that could be made for a young girl 
of fourteen. 

The court dressmaker embroidered beautiful red designs 
on the cuffs and collar of the dress and ordered the attendants 
of the princess to fasten her head-dress so the red satin flowers 
would lie in an even row at either side of her face. Real 
pearls are sewed around the layers of the collar, and two 
watches are hanging by ribbons from the waist. Notice how 
Velasquez has painted the hands. The princess is not pretty, 
but her face looks radiant. 

Note: A master observer and master technician, Velasquez 
animated his subjects, despite their stiff, formal costumes, 
with a vitality and fidelity that have been the envy of all 
succeeding followers of his craft. As court painter to Philip 
IV, he immortalized his royal patrons in numerous canvases 
of supreme beauty. This delineation of the young Infanta is 
one of his most famous. Concerning this work, Justi wrote 
in 1883: “It is surprising how a being so little favored by the 
Graces and the Muses can please the eye merely by her youth 
and health. She seems radiant with the first rapture of those 
festivities which were kept up without interruption in her 
honor.” 


Page thirty-seven 


This canvas was one of three sent to the courts of Flanders, 
Austria and France, for the purpose of negotiating a marriage 
for the Infanta. It is now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 
and is regarded as the finest of the three. At the time it was 
painted, Velasquez had overcome any tightness or dryness 
which may have been apparent in his earlier manner, and his 
full fluency of brush was at its height. 


Page thirty-eight 


Grade Five 


SUBJECT: David at the Cave of Adullam 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Claude Lorraine—(French) 

In the days of Claude Lorraine artists did not paint direct 
from nature. All their landscapes were imaginary, just as this 
one is. It tells the story of David, who, after his flight from 
Saul, took refuge in a cave in a place named Adullam. Here 
he gathered together a great many followers, 400 in number. 

The artist shows us the entrance to the cave with David 
welcoming some men who have just joined his ranks. He 
painted the golden glow of sunlight so well that he has been 
called the luminist of the seventeenth century. 


Note: In this performance, with its expanse of noble dis¬ 
tances, the truly pictorial in “Italian landscape” has been at¬ 
tained. Claude Lorraine was the greatest master of this style 
of painting. The tree forms the center of interest. The artist 
was sitting overlooking the valley while he painted, as shown 
by the horizon line. The introduction of the little red figures 
gives a human interest to the picture and these bright touches 
serve as accents. 


SUBJECT: Joan of Arc 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Jules Bastien-Lepage—(French) 

(Zhool Bast shun le Pahj) 

This is a picture of the great historical character, Joan of 
Arc, the maid of Orleans, who led the army of France against 
the enemy. She was sitting in her father’s orchard spinning 

Page thirty-nine 


when a vision of angels appeared. In this vision the angels 
told her to don her armor and fight for France. The over¬ 
turned stool shows how suddenly she left her work. Notice 
the spiritual expression of her face as she listens to the voices. 


Note: Joan of Arc has never been more convincingly 
portrayed than by her compatriot, Bastien-LePage. She looks 
truly inspired, as the artist has shown her with attention 
arrested. The shadowy creatures of her vision are giving her 
courage to carry out her brave undertaking. Explain to the 
children that all the leafage is shown because painting out-of- 
doors had just been introduced. LePage was one of the first 
artists to paint out-of-doors. He was called a pleinaerist. 


SUBJECT: Shepherds of Arcadia—(Louvre, Paris) 

ARTIST: Nicolas Poussin—(French) 

(Poo’ san) 

In this picture the artist shows us his idea of a scene of 
early shepherd life in the imaginary country of Arcadia. The 
shepherds are wearing ancient costumes and have stopped in 
the woods to examine an old inscription. The woman is prob¬ 
ably a Goddess. Notice the beautiful yellow mantle she is 
wearing and how well its color contrasts with the blue of her 
skirt. 

The figures form a pretty group. The trees behind them 
are painted in such a way as to break any monotony in the 
spacing of the picture. 


Note: Although frankly artificial, this canvas is not with¬ 
out charm. Its author, the pioneer in French landscape art, 
was a master of flawless drawing, and was well versed in the 
knowledge of color distribution. His characters are idealistic 
and there is a poetic theme underlying all his work. The op¬ 
position of horizontals and verticals in this example, and the 
employment of the oblique line, particularly in the radiating 
effect of the hands at the center, are expressive elements of 
studied effect. 


Page forty 


SUBJECT: L’Etude—(Louvre, Paris) 

ARTIST: Jean Honore Fragonard—(French) 

(Frag' o nar) 

What a sparkling, lively piece of painting this picture is! 
The light falling on the bright face makes it seem alive. 
Notice the different shades of brown and red in the dress and 
background, and the red on the books which echoes the color 
of the cheeks and lips. 

When you trace the pattern you will see that it forms a 
triangle with the head at the top. To show the depth of color 
in this picture, study the ruched collar which frames the face. 
It appears white, but that is only because of its relation to the 
flesh and the dress. It is really gray in color. This picture 
is painted with an accurate sense of light and shade. You 
can almost feel the air that surrounds the figures. 


Note: Fragonard, who represents the last of the “fetes 
galantes” painters (Watteau, Lancret, Boucher, etc.), derived 
his technique by direct study of Rubens. His drawing is sound, 
his color admirable, and his sense of decoration distinguished. 
The buoyant freshness of his brush is in interesting contrast 
to the artificial spirit of the age in which he lived. There are 
many lovely points for consideration in the subject for this 
lesson, among them being the way the head and neck are 
lighted, with the dark side merging into the background, and 
again partly outlined against the collar. The beads, the orna¬ 
ments at the breast, and the foreshortening of the lower right 
arm are interesting features. 


SUBJECT: Jane Seymour—(Royal Museum, Vienna) 

ARTIST: Hans Holbein—(German) 

(Hole bine) 

The face of this queen, who was one of the wives of Henry 
VIII of England, would be more pleasing if it were not for 
the peculiar head-dress worn by ladies of her time. It leaves 
the forehead so bare that it gives the face a hard and severe 
look. Notice the regularity of design and how the black por¬ 
tions of the head-dress are used for balance. 


Page forty-one 


The jewels, as well as the different materials in the costume 
are painted in great detail. The elaborate costume is true to 
the style of the times, just as are the costumes in other por¬ 
traits painted by great artists. 

This picture is a particularly good example of the work 
Holbein did during his visit in England at the Court of Henry 
VIII. A few years ago there was discovered in a forgotten 
'cupboard in Windsor Castle a roll of beautiful drawings done 
with black chalk, touched up with red. They were Holbein’s 
preliminary drawings of the courtiers, and are at present pre¬ 
served in the Castle. 


Note: Holbein the Younger, who was engaged as court 
painter to Henry VIII, represented the most finished crafts¬ 
manship of his day in German painting. His style reflects 
excessive detail, but his skill in human delineation is extraordi¬ 
nary. In the presentation of this subject to the class, em¬ 
phasize the design, and the attention to detail. 


SUBJECT: Twilight—(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 
ARTIST: Anton Mauve—(Dutch) 

(Moave) 

Mauve is one of the modern Dutch painters who created 
atmosphere in his pictures by using different effects of light. 
The sheep in this picture are not painted in detail but are 
used with the fading light to show the time of day. We can 
feel the distance in the winding road by the way in which the 
light is focused against the horizon. The sheep are huddled 
together as they follow their leader along the road home to 
the fold. 


Note: This picture strikes a note of peace and calm which 
the children will feel. Get them to sense the atmosphere of 
the picture by pointing out the use of subdued lights and 
shades. Draw attention to the purplish brown foreground and 
greenish brown sky, the abundance of color in the dark mass 
{greens and reddish browns), and the touches of green lighting 
the tree tops. The few glints of mellow sunlight peeping 
through the trees are accents of interest which give form to 
the mass. The sheep are mostly “suggested.” The few near- 

Page forty-two 


est the foreground are rather carefully drawn, but those in the 
middle distance are simply a mass of yellow streaks which 
show the light shining upon the horns. It is this suggestion, 
this sketchy way of painting, that gives to the picture its 
lovely atmospheric quality, and that lends to it what the art¬ 
ists call mastery. 


SUBJECT: Mrs. Gardiner and Her Children 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: John Hoppner—(English) 

This is a very interesting composition, first because of the 
whites; then because of the grouping. Notice that whites 
in a picture are not really white. They are white only in com¬ 
parison with the colors around them. When we hold white 
paper beside the white in paintings, we see that it is full of 
color. One of the “problems” in painting pictures is to show 
several whites in the same composition. In this portrait of 
Mrs. Gardiner and Her Children, Hoppner has painted his 
three figures all in white. The red in the background em¬ 
phasizes the different whites. 

The three figures are grouped as a unit. The head of the 
child at the right has been placed to avoid an angle. Instead, 
it makes a beautiful curve. The head of the child at the left 
breaks the angular line of the elbow, so that the whole group 
is harmonious. 


Note: Hoppner was a member of the group of portrait 
painters who immortalized the society of England in the 
eighteenth century. He was a sincere and capable craftsman. 
Study the whites, as brought out in the story, using white, 
gray and buff papers. This picture gives the students an ex¬ 
cellent opportunity to trace the pattern of the composition. 
It is simple, yet the grouping of the figures is so admirable 
that considerable thought should be given to their arrange¬ 
ment. 


Page forty-three 


SUBJECT: Mile. Charlotte du val d’Ognes (Dough-Nay) 
(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Jacques Louis David—(French) 

(Zshahk loo ee Dah vee) 

At the time this picture was painted French society was 
frivolous and artificial. The painters showed this spirit in 
their pictures. David was the first artist of the period to paint 
in a different way. He made his pictures look plain and rather 
severe—classical, they are called. The color lacks warmth 
and is considered cold, but this picture, which is one of his 
best, has a great deal of grace and clearness of line. 

The head of the figure is beautifully modeled and the folds 
of the garments are carefully placed. Study the pinks and 
white in their relationships. The woman is posing as if she 
were an artist about to paint a picture of David as he works. 


Note: This subject belongs to the period of the Directoire, 
when revolt against a frivolous, licentious court demanded 
the statement of severe and absolute fact. The revival of 
interest in classical sculpture was directing the ideals of paint¬ 
ing into the chiseled contour of marble, leaving its color cold 
and lacking in vibration. As leader in this classical movement, 
David invested his works with a certain studied charm, al¬ 
though adhering faithfully to the style of the hour. 

The young woman who sits here possesses both beauty 
of face and grace of form. The distribution of the color masses, 
particularly the gradations from pink to dark maroon, will be 
of interest to the children. In the analysis of the costume, 
which is an example of the Directoire type (1795-1799), it 
should be pointed out that the increased length of skirt adds 
to the apparent height of the woman's figure. It was the 
fashion of the time for women to appear tall. 


SUBJECT: Calais Gate—(National Gallery, London) 
ARTIST: William Hogarth—(English) 

This picture was painted during a visit that the artist made 
to Calais, France. Hogarth was a great humorist who satired 
the faults of society and pointed out a moral with his pictures. 

Page forty-four 


He was the greatest illustrator of his time and an expert 
engraver. He learned to engrave when as a young boy he 
served as apprentice to a silversmith in London. His paint¬ 
ings were intended as models for his engravings which he 
made mostly on copper, and it is doubtful if he realized the 
great contribution they would make to the art of England. 
Hogarth is the one British artist whose work shows no for¬ 
eign influence and is wholly British in character. 

Calais Gate is one of Hogarth's greatest pictures. He was 
making a sketch of the famous gate of Calais when he was 
arrested by the French as a spy. Because of this he was so 
incensed that he painted the picture as a satire. The group¬ 
ing of the figures looks like a scene on the stage. The outer 
frame increases this effect. The raven over the cross on the 
gate is symbolic of evil. A close study of the figures show 
them to be caricatures of different types of the period. 


Note: As a master of anecdote Hogarth stands supreme. 
His influence as a moralist, also, is incalculable. At a time 
when hypocrisy and excesses were undermining the backbone 
of society, his "sermons in paint" led people to think and to 
gradually adopt saner standards of living. Usually with a 
satirical incident as a basis of his theme, he produced, through 
his drawing and facial expression, an inimitable satire. Hog¬ 
arth moralized with his brush, as prominent writers of the 
period (Fielding, Smollet and Richardson) did with their pens. 

In this celebrated painting the tall, lithe form of the sentry 
at the left forms a balance to the group at the right. The 
interest is centered upon the cook with his enormous beef, 
and the friar beside him. The hungry cadaverous-looking 
soldier gives the impression that he would like to exchange 
places with the well-fed churchman. Behind the sentry, 
Hogarth himself is seen sketching. The sense of action and 
the Frenchman’s proverbial excitement, are expressed with 
amazing fidelity. 


Page forty-five 


SUBJECT: The Cornfield —(National Gallery, London) 
ARTIST: John Constable —(English) 


This is one of the most celebrated pictures ever painted 
by Constable, who was the first artist in England with the 
courage to paint landscapes as they really looked, instead of 
following the rules for painting that other landscape artists 
had made. Landscapists in Constable’s time were mostly 
copying the colors of old pictures, never stopping to think that 
these old pictures must have been bright and gay when first 
painted. So when Constable used bright colors, as in nature, 
he was highly criticised, and his pictures were not fully ap¬ 
preciated until after his death. 

This is a pastoral picture—a view of English country. The 
way in which the artist has introduced the figures is most in¬ 
teresting. The little shepherd has stopped a moment to drink 
from the brook while the dog is guarding the sheep. The 
subject of the picture is the cornfield in the middle distance. 
To draw attention to this cornfield Constable has flanked it 
with the two groups of trees. Notice the beautiful way in 
which the clouds have been painted. How true they are to 
nature! The artist knew so accurately the formation of clouds 
and how to draw them that he was able with a few strokes 
of his brush to give us the feeling of distance in the sky. 


Note: This canvas, which is one of the shrines of the 
National Gallery, was purchased by popular subscription as a 
memorial to its author at the time of his death in 1837. The 
tribute was a fitting honor for the man who dared to paint 
what he saw, instead of blindly following prescribed conven¬ 
tions. His as well as Monet’s, was the doctrine of light and 
air. His was the mission to demonstrate the facts of pure, 
scintillating color to a skeptical, artificial public. 

“The Cornfield” possesses a wealth of color which ex¬ 
emplifies the new era—the change from darkness to brightness. 
The appearance of distance has been made by the juxtaposition 
of bright colors. Added depth is given to the picture by the 
subtle cloud formation and the scene is animated by the pres¬ 
ence of living creatures. 


Page forty-six 


Grade Six 


SUBJECT: Young Woman With a Water Jug 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Jan Vermeer, of Delft —(Dutch) 

This is one of the most subtle pictures ever painted, be¬ 
cause of the beautiful rendering of light and shade, and the 
exquisite painting of textures. Owing to the skill with which 
it was painted the colors are as bright today as they were 
300 years ago. Notice how beautifully the flesh of the woman's 
face is relieved by the white hood and collar. The feeling of 
light as it comes through the window, enveloping the whole 
figure, is typical of the Dutch school of painting to which this 
artist belonged. The introduction of the map in the back¬ 
ground serves to break the space of bare wall so the proper 
balance is maintained. 

One of the most interesting facts about the picture is that 
the original is very small—only eighteen by sixteen inches. 
Such loving care has been devoted to its production by the 
painter that it is really a gem of art. The Dutch artists who 
painted these small canvases were called the “little Masters 
of Holland." 


Note: This painting is an excellent example of Vermeer’s 
characteristic color scheme, which is a combination of lemon 
yellow and blue. His device of flooding a room with light, 
along a bright wall to the darkest corner of the picture, is 
here admirably presented. The soft opalescent light envelopes 
the whole picture with a radiance. For his success in this 
practice, David C. Pryor has pronounced Vermeer “the great¬ 
est painter of values ever known." 

In consideration of this work, it should not be difficult to 
explain the reflected light from the adjoining wall, as it modi¬ 
fies the shadow under the window, which becomes even lighter 
than the triangular shadow at the bottom of the light wall. 

Page forty-seven 


The red table cover is happily introduced to break the line of 
the skirt and to show the artist's command of textures. The 
folded kerchief on the head, the large collar, the picturesque 
bodice of the woman, the jewel chest, the leather-covered 
chair, and the brass ewer standing in the basin are good illus¬ 
trations of the furnishings of the period. The works of Ver¬ 
meer, who died young, number only about thirty pictures, so 
that the Metropolitan Museum is fortunate in possessing this 
splendid example. 


SUBJECT: Fighting Temeraire 

(National Gallery, London) 

ARTIST: J. M. W. Turner— (English) 

This gallant old ship with its guns removed, makes a ghost¬ 
ly outline against the evening sky. It is the historic Teme¬ 
raire, the second vessel of the British fleet, under Nelson, that 
fought the French in the famous battle of Trafalgar. It is 
being towed by the puffing tug to the ship breaker's yard. 

After its many years of patriotic service, its breaking up 
was a sad experience for the English people. Turner has 
caught the poetic moment of this last journey. The sunset 
has been introduced as a symbol of the ship's final voyage. 
The artist was renowned for his masterly rendering of sunset 
skies. Contrast the rich warm colors of sunset with the cool 
blues of nightfall and see how the artist has used these colors 
with telling effect. Turner has been called the most imagina¬ 
tive outdoor painter and the greatest colorist of open-air 
scenes that ever lived. 


Note: In their subjective beauty, Turner’s canvases react 
upon the observer with a strong emotional appeal. His was 
the power of selecting and uniting into a single message the 
details from many sources. Phillip G. Hammerton, who paint¬ 
ed on the shores of Loch Awe, delineated the actual scene, 
but discovered long afterward that Turner, who depicted the 
same place, was far more truthful, even though he changed 
the positions and relations of certain objects to fit into a con¬ 
vincing arrangement. The balancing of reds and yellows, the 
darks of the puffing tug and the buoy, and the proportion of 
warm to cool colors may easily be worked out by the class. 

Page forty-eight 


SUBJECT : Duchess of Milan—(National Gallery, London) 

ARTIST: Hans Holbein—(German) 

( Hole-bine) 


The noticeable thing about this picture is its rendering of 
rich stuffs. The artist has painted all the materials in the 
dress—the silk, the fur, the head-dress—in such a way that 
although they show well, they are not too prominent. They 
do not detract from the interest of the face and hands. They 
are so skillfully painted that their outlines can be lost and 
found at will. They blend perfectly with the rest of the picture. 

The face and hands are simply and exquisitely modeled 
and throb with life. See how the interest in the hands is 
completed by the introduction of the gloves and cuffs. The 
scroll on the wall helps to make the figure stand out and was 
painted for that particular purpose. Contrast it with the color 
of the face and hands. 

The reason we know this is the Duchess of Milan is be¬ 
cause the name of the artist and the sitter are printed on the 
scroll in the background. 


Note : This is one of the finest examples of flesh paint¬ 
ings in the work of the masters. The charm of Holbein’s 
style lies in its simplicity. In the flesh you will notice an 
absence of shadows which a lesser artist would have resorted 
to in order to obtain his effect. The modelling of the flesh is 
extremely simple. It is firm, yet all the planes in the face 
melt into one another without any noticeable effort. The 
color of the flesh is accentuated by the white collar and the 
black gown. The textual rendering of the fur is very beauti¬ 
ful, echoing the brown of the floor. 

This portrait was ordered by Henry VIII, who sent Hol¬ 
bein abroad to paint the widowed Duchess of Milan so that 
he might survey her charms with a view to matrimony. There 
were no photographers in those days, so the only way to ac¬ 
quire a picture bride was by having a master artist paint the 
lady as faithfully as possible. 


Page forty-nine 


SUBJECT: Detail Head —(Ambrosiana Gallery, Milan) 

ARTIST: Bernardino Luini—(Italian) 

( Bur-nar-dee-no Loo-ee'-nee) 

This picture is a detail from Luini's celebrated painting 
of the Holy Family in the Ambrosiana Gallery, Milan. It is a 
very beautiful example of this artist's work. Notice the ex¬ 
quisite contours of the Virgin's face and the lovely expression 
of spirituality. The modelling is so delicate that one feels 
the way in which the features are rounded. There are no 
harsh lines or shadows. 

The whole color scheme of the picture is what the artists 
call warm, as the leading color is red. The touch of green is 
a cool color. The figure at the right of the Virgin is St. Anne. 
Both are shown wearing a forehead band in accordance with 
the custom of the time. An interesting point to study is the 
contrast between the color of these bands and the flesh. 


Note: This work is modeled after a drawing by Leonardo, 
now in London. Luini was a pupil of Leonardo da Vinci, 
and he was so brilliant that his paintings have often been mis¬ 
taken for those of his master. It was a common practice of 
Renaissance painters to make sketches for their pupils to 
paint. You may notice almost the same smile that Leonardo 
painted in his picture of St. Anne. The flowering lily at the 
left is a characteristic convention of Luini's work. 


SUBJECT: Charles I of England —(Louvre, Paris) 
ARTIST: Sir Anthony Van Dyck —(Flemish) 

Kingly dignity is the outstanding quality of this picture. 
It shows Charles I of England as he has alighted from his 
horse. He is dressed in a magnificent costume of rich material 
and looks truly regal and commanding. His face expresses 
the overbearing pride which led to his untimely end. 

The composition of the picture is delightful. The artist 
has skillfully introduced the horse and groom as subordinate 
to the figure of the King, which forms the center of interest. 
The position of the King and the staff he is holding, and the 
groom’s head, break the oblique line extending from the 

Page fifty 


horse’s neck to the foliage at the lower left of the picture. The 
massing of trees and clouds creates additional interest. 

Van Dyck was a Flemish painter who settled in England, 
became popular there, and was knighted by the King. 


Note: This superb canvas is a star of the first magnitude. 
It possesses, first of all, what the artists call quality. The 
aristocratic bearing and general physiognomy of a proud and 
pampered sovereign are the unmistakable earmarks of the ele¬ 
gant Van Dyck brush. He was justly celebrated for his ability 
to show royalty* and palacial settings with appropriate splen¬ 
dor. Compared to Rubens, his master, Van Dyck was less 
vigorous, but he had a finer sense of beauty and his work was 
distinguished for its grace and refinement. 


SUBJECT : Portrait of a Lady 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Sir William Beechey —(English) 

This is a charming example of the old English school of 
painting, founded by Sir Joshua Reynolds, the master of Sir 
William Beechey. Queen Victoria took painting lessons from 
Sir William when she was a young girl. 

This portrait represents a young lady in a costume of the 
opening years of the nineteenth century. Notice how the 
whole figure fills up the space of the canvas in a very artistic 
way. It is silhouetted against the background which is in 
the style of Sir Joshua Reynolds’ by the introduction of some 
garden spot frequented by the sitter. The light falls from 
above directly upon the important parts of the portrait—the 
face and shoulders. The rest of the figure is enveloped in a 
soft shadow which helps to emphasize the upper part of the 
body. The lovely folds of the red scarf conceal the right arm, 
thus avoiding the use of two parallel lines which would be* 
formed by the arms, and which would detract from the beauty 
of the figure. 

Note: Sir William Beechey was a contemporary of Law¬ 
rence and Hoppner. Emphasize the similarity between the 
backgrounds of Beechey and Reynolds, his master, as indi- 

Page fifty-one 


cated in the story. Draw attention especially to the grace of 
the figure, the complete pattern formed by the whites, and the 
balance created by the red scarf and the darker background. 
Show how the line of the parasol breaks the monotony of the 
space between the two hands and unites the two ends of the 
scarf. 


SUBJECT: Miss Baring 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Sir Thomas Lawrence—(English) 

This is a picture of a young English girl who lived about 
the time of the battle of Waterloo. She was Miss Baring, a 
member of the famous family of English bankers—the Barings. 

The artist has caught all the freshness of her youth— 
her little ringlets and her sweet manner. The pink holly¬ 
hocks and attractive foliage show a glimpse of the family 
garden which was a very extensive one. The Baring estate 
exists today in Hampshire, and the grounds are so large that 
it is a three mile drive from the entrance lodge to the house. 

Sir Thomas Lawrence began to paint when he was a boy 
of twelve. His father kept an inn and Thomas used to sketch 
the people who stopped there to eat. He attracted much at¬ 
tention and became a great favorite. 


Note: Appointed as painter to the King upon the death 
of Sir Joshua Reynolds, Lawrence possessed ample opportu¬ 
nities to depict the shimmering satins and rich jewels that his 
taste enjoyed. His brush was essentially adapted to the femi¬ 
nine graces, and he was always regarded as a more successful 
painter of women than of men. His fresh coloring is his out¬ 
standing virtue. His flesh shadows were warm and transpar¬ 
ent and he had a happy facility in the rendering of filmy 
textures. 


Page fifty-two 


SUBJECT: At Lake of Garda 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Hans Thoma —(German) 

{Toma) 

This is a decorative picture. It is painted in a flat way, 
without the perspective and close detail of the portraits and 
landscapes that we have been studying. The background has 
purposely been kept simple, so the tracery of the little branches 
of the trees can form a lacy design that is decorative. In order 
to make the foliage look more decorative an intense blue is 
used in the sky. 

A picture of this kind gives us a restful feeling, and is suit¬ 
able for beautiful effects on big spaces like the walls of public 
buildings. The artist has reduced all his lines and masses to 
the simplest form for the sake of design. 


Note: As children naturally see in two dimensions, the 
decorative subject is really more understandable to them than 
one wherein much foreshortening and perspective are included, 
and this is a highly decorative picture. The problem in giving 
a lesson on the subject is to make certain that the distinction 
between the decorative and the realistic subject be recognized. 
A general discussion of the settings appropriate for the two 
types of picture would be of value. Explain that the decora¬ 
tive work is adapted for use as murals, while the realistic pic¬ 
ture finds its sphere chiefly in the home. 


SUBJECT: The House of Cards —(Louvre, Paris) 

ARTIST: Jean Chardin —(French) 

{Shardan) 

The painter of this picture is noted for his interiors, in 
which he portrays the home life of his day. He always painted 
simple themes, as in the example before you, where a French 
boy of the time of Louis XV is playing with cards. He is 
building a house with them. The artist shows how carefully 
he is laying one card upon the other so the house will not fall. 
He sits very still as he plays. 

The whole picture gives a feeling of repose that is brought 

Page fifty-three 


about by the soft gray tones which the artist uses. The key¬ 
note of this picture is gray. The only dark touch is the hat 
which is not black, but a grayish blue. The cuffs and collar 
are gray, the shadow of the cards, and even the flesh and the 
clothing have warm gray tones. These tones are repeated 
in the background, while the gray-green table accentuates the 
color of the hands and cards. We might call the picture a 
symphony in gray . 


Note: In a period when court gaieties were largely the 
subject of the painter’s brush, there appeared in France an 
artist whose life and work were independent of the popular 
theme. Instead of painting court frivolities, Chardin developed 
a style of his own. He preferred to paint simple scenes of 
the home life about him. He was a distinguished painter of 
still life and his handling of objects has seldom been sur¬ 
passed. In presenting this to the class, the antiquity of play¬ 
ing cards might be alluded to, together with the study of cos¬ 
tume. The emptiness and impermanence of building a “House 
of Cards” might be indicated as a symbolic motif for this work. 


SUBJECT: The Stockade—(Luxembourg, Paris) 

ARTIST: Cezanne—(French) 

(See zari) 

This landscape is interesting because of its extreme simpli¬ 
city. The artist has given us the feeling of distance and space 
by very simple means. He outlines certain objects, thus mak¬ 
ing them more definite, and he does this in varying intensity 
so that they take their proper place in relation to one another. 

Notice that it is only in the foreground that the objects 
have been so sharply outlined. The hills in the background 
are simple masses of color. This makes them look very far 
away. In following the line of the distant hill tops from the 
upper right hand corner of the picture across and down over 
the tree tops to the sandy beach in the lower right, there is a 
continuity of design that is very lovely. 

The trees are painted in a different manner than the hills 
in the background, which gives us the sense of distance. The 
water does not seem to separate the two parts of the picture. 
These parts are united by the line of the trees. The picture 

Page fifty-four 


shows repose, but there is something vigorous in the handling. 
Cezanne was the first artist of his time (and he died only 
recently—in 1906) to use the neutral color purple so fre¬ 
quently. 


Note: Cezanne might be called the father of the extreme 
modernists. His work has a striking individuality, different 
from that of all other painters. He tells something definite 
and personal, and in a positive way. His whole life was a 
struggle for self-expression. He was his own judge and jury, 
with standards of his own making. How high these standards 
were is shown by the scores of canvases he literally threw 
away as failures. Many of these discarded paintings were 
rescued and are now hanging in museums and private collec¬ 
tions, where quality is the criterion of admission. 

Very few painters have had the power to grasp and portray 
reality as Cezanne has done. His life and art were insepa- 
rately one. Add to this his rare mastership of the medium 
of paint and one can understand why the experienced observer 
of paintings is drawn irresistibly to the Cezannes in a mixed 
collection of good quality. 


Page fifty-five 


Grade Seven 


SUBJECT: Rocks of Belle Isle —(Luxembourg, Paris) 

ARTIST: Claude Monet —-(French) 

(Mow* nay) 

To really understand this picture you should know about 
impressionist painting. It was due to Monet that the word 
impressionism came into being. He and a group of his artist 
friends painted in such an original way that they were criti¬ 
cised by the public. Their pictures were refused admission 
to the salon of 1863 where the popular pictures of the time 
were exhibited. 

Napoleon III, however, insisted that these artists be given 
a chance to exhibit their work together, so their pictures were 
hung in a special room which was called the “Salon de Re¬ 
fuses,” meaning “the exhibit of the refused.” The pictures 
were considered a joke and the public went in crowds to see 
them. One of the canvases that amused them most was a 
painting of a sunset by Monet called “Impressions.” From 
this time on the artists who followed this manner‘of painting 
were called impressionists. 

The impressionists used few colors and applied them with 
broken lines, one next to the other, so that the whole picture 
was bright and looked as if the sunlight was shining upon it. 
Earlier painters had used sombre tones, or earth colors, as 
they were called, and applied them in rather a flat way. We 
might say that the earlier painters used a minor or sad key, 
while the impressionists painted in a major or bright key. 

The impressionists got their idea of color from an analysis 
of sunlight. They studied the action of sunlight on different 
objects and discovered that it pervades everything, even the 
shadows. So they used the seven colors of the spectrum in 
their purity (violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and 
red), without mixing them before putting them on the canvas. 
They used little bits, or spots, of each color alongside of one 


Page fifty-six 


another in a proportion depending upon the intensity of the 
light. When they needed black, they did not paint dead black, 
but mixed red, yellow and blue in the proper proportions. 

Study this picture to see how the artist has used the seven 
colors of the spectrum to show light and shade, distance, and 
the action of light on rocks, water and sky. It was the effect 
of light on objects that he wished to convey, rather than 
the impression of the objects themselves. 

The high horizon shows that the artist was standing on a 
promontory looking down on the water. The outline of the 
rocks forms a very beautiful pattern. The swirling and eddy¬ 
ing water has been realistically rendered. The balance of 
masses and the absence of detail show great breadth of vision. 


Note: Briefly, the theory of the impressionists in regard to 
paintings is that in nature no color exists by itself. The local 
color of objects is a pure illusion. The only creative 
source of color is the sunlight which envelops all things, and 
reveals them according to the time of day, with many modifica¬ 
tions. If the light disappears, forms and colors vanish to¬ 
gether. 

Sunlight, then, as analyzed through the spectrum, is ex¬ 
pressed on canvas by the use of the seven colors of the spec¬ 
trum in their purity. The juxtaposition of these colors de¬ 
termines the intensity of light and shade and gives the exact 
grades of tone necessary to produce the artist’s conception of 
nature. 

Monet’s pictures (and assist the students in their analysis 
of “the Rocks of Belle Isle” with these facts in view), have 
an absolutely original aspect. The shadows are striped with 
blue, rose madder and green, and a light vibration strikes the 
eye. Were these colors mixed upon the palette before being 
transferred to the canvas, there would be a tendency to a sooty 
or opaque gray which would lack luminosity. The main fea¬ 
ture of the impressionist’s technique is the theory of disas¬ 
sociated tones, suppressing all mixtures and leaving to each 
color its proper strength with all its freshness and brilliancy. 


Page fifty-seven 


SUBJECT: Philip IV —(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velasquez —(Spanish) 
(Dee ay* go Ro dree gayth day Seal vah ee Vay lahs' keth) 

The artist who painted this picture was one of the great¬ 
est portrait painters of all time. He was a court painter, like 
Van Dyck. But he was more independent than Van Dyck, 
who added some artificialities to his characters. Velasquez 
painted people just as they were and never sacrificed his ideals 
of art to please his patrons. 

King Phillip IV of Spain was a great patron of art, and 
admired the work of Velasquez. This picture of the King 
shows exquisite drawing of the standing position. The entire 
color scheme is gray. There is gray in the figure, the flesh, 
and the background; yet it is full of light and color. The back¬ 
ground envelopes the figure which stands out because of the 
diversity of light used. 

You may notice the resemblance between King Phillip and 
the present Spanish King, Alphonso. The acquiline nose and 
high forehead are typical of the Hapsburg family. The paint¬ 
ing of the Infanta Maria Theresa shows this same resemblance. 


Note: Velasquez was the first painter who was able to 
make an entire symphony in gray. His work, in this respect, 
has served as an example for many artists since his time. 

This portrait was executed before Philip was twenty years 
of age, since he was born in 1605, and there is a receipt of the 
picture’s sale in 1624. He ascended the throne at sixteen; 
hence, this must have been done within three years of that 
time. The face, with its taciturn expression, is a wonder of 
craftsmanship in its simple modeling. (King Philip IV is 
said to have smiled only three times in his life.) From the 
heavy gold chain worn over the right shoulder, hangs the order 
of the Golden Fleece. This bit of light on an otherwise black 
surface forms an interesting note in the composition. 

Velasquez is known by his mother’s name, added in ac¬ 
cordance with the Andalusian custom. His paternal name 
was de Silva. The world of art owes a debt to King Philip IV 
for sponsoring Velasquez. He apparently admired the artist’s 
independence and appreciated his sincere adherence to his art. 


Page fifty-eight 


SUBJECT: Mrs. Lauzun—(National Gallery, London) 
(Lou-zun) 

ARTIST: Sir Henry Raeburn—(Scotch) 

(Ray' burn) 

One of the most important things about this picture is the 
amount of color in the white dress of Mrs. Lauzun. It is 
white, yet it looks almost purple. The artist has very delicately 
applied color to show the flesh of the throat in relation to the 
dress. The fresh color of the face is typical of portraits by 
Raeburn. The background is only roughly suggested in order 
not to detract from the importance of the picture. The pose 
expresses the grace and ease of an aristocrat. 

All of Raeburn’s work was very well drawn. He was in 
the habit of placing the people who posed for their pictures 
on a platform above his head. This gave the portraits a 
slightly foreshortened appearance, so the neck and chin can 
always be seen first. The artist did this because he thought 
the picture would look better when hung on a wall to be 
viewed by others. 

Note: No artist of the British school has surpassed this 
gifted Scotchman in the noble art of portraiture. His trans¬ 
parency of pigment and his flowing sweep of brush unite to 
distinguish his romantic setting and subtle characterizations. 
In this example, the chief lesson to be derived is the evident 
lack of effort. There is nothing labored in the treatment, 
making a restful, joyous creation. For sheer dexterity this 
picture is amazing. There is not a stroke too many. Fresh¬ 
ness in power of handling dominates the technique. 

Raeburn was a very serious artist, and exceedingly regu¬ 
lar in his habits, working a certain number of hours every 
day. He studied the Italian painters for their methods of 
work and became a pioneer in simple color schemes. Most 
of the work of his period (the early nineties—about 1795) 
tends to grayness of color, accentuated now and then by 
passages of pure white, bright yellow or red. Raeburn painted 
thinly so the twill of the canvas showed clearly. His portraits 
conform less to a type and are more individualized than those 
of any other painter of his time or school. Raeburn was a 
pupil of Allan Ramsay who was court painter to George II 
of England. 


Page fifty-nine 


SUBJECT: Old Woman Cutting Her Nails 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Rembrandt Harmensz Van Ryn —(Dutch) 

The focusing of light is the most striking thing in this 
picture. Rembrandt’s greatness as an artist is due to his won¬ 
derful knowledge of concentrated light, or chiarascuro (Key- 
ah-rahs-curo) as it is called. He focused the light from above 
which throws it into relief against the background, separating 
it completely from the surrounding darkness. The background 
looks black, but if you compare it with a black object, it looks 
luminous (filled with light). 

Rembrandt was able to make his dark backgrounds appear 
luminous because of the way he regulated light and shade. 
His whites are really darker than pure yellow, but appear 
white by their relationship with other colors. Rembrandt 
obtained a startling effect in causing the principal parts of 
the figure to merge into the light from the enveloping dark¬ 
ness. The head and hands seem farthest forward and gleam 
with an amazing naturalness. The picture shows originality, 
and great power and certainty in handling. 

Rembrandt was an untiring worker. He produced nearly 
four hundred plates of etchings as well as hundreds of portraits 
and biblical pictures. 


Note: In the ‘'Old Woman Cutting Her Nails,” the sub¬ 
ject of the picture itself suggests the importance of hands and 
head. This brings into prominence radiating lines from the 
fingers toward the elbows and from the chin toward the head. 
Owing to the cut of the garment, there is also another line of 
radiation from the chin down to the waist. This use of radiat¬ 
ing lines is an effective and popular means of holding the eye 
to the center of interest. Against the background of dark 
russet green, the soft red-brown cloak forms a harmonious 
combination of complementary hues. The floor and chair arm 
take up the note of the garment, the relief of which is ex¬ 
pressed in the white chemisette and the dark ivory tone of the 
head-dress. 

With Rembrandt, lighting is so paramount that the matter 
of texture is quite subordinate. It should not, however, be 
overlooked in class study. 


sixty 


SUBJECT: Lady Reid —(Cleveland Museum of Art) 
ARTIST: George Romney —(English) 


The remarkable thing about this portrait is the warmth 
of color which envelopes it. The background is dark, but 
contains warm autumn colors to correspond with the prevail¬ 
ing tone of the whole picture. The dark blue sky has been 
introduced to relieve the monotony of color, and there is just 
a touch of light at the horizon. 

Notice how the light is falling on the upper part of the pic¬ 
ture, leaving the lower part in shadow. This accentuates the 
interest on the face, which was Romney's special manner of 
portraiture. The hair of Lady Reid is done in the prevailing 
style of the period. The artist shows the gracious personality, 
the poise, and the bearing of a well-bred Englishwoman of his 
time. 


Note: A daughter of Sir Chandos Hoskys, the subject of 
this picture, who, in 1784 became the wife of Sir John Reid, 
was painted at the height of Romney’s professional career. 
The portrait is an admirable example of his fluent style. Rom¬ 
ney had a dexterity that was unusual. He was an accomplished 
draughtsman. Draw attention to the background painted in 
the old English style, and to the artist’s emphasis of the head 
and shoulders by means of light and shadow. 


SUBJECT: The Pilots —(Art Institute, Chicago) 
ARTIST: William Francis Brangwyn —(English) 

Brangwyn is one of the most original of living artists. He 
lives today in a suburb of London where he not only paints, 
but etches on copper and other metals, and designs beautiful 
furniture, textiles and stained glass windows. He is noted 
for his mural paintings and he makes some of the largest 
paintings and etchings that have ever been produced. He is 
a tireless worker and has been very successful. 

As a youth Brangwyn followed the sea. Here he studied 
all types of seamen which he uses as the subject of many of 
his pictures. In this picture he shows a group of Spanish 
pilots in a little village on the seacoast. In a letter written 

Page sixty-one 


to friends shortly after the picture was painted, Brangwyn 
said: “This city is a tiny Venice with essentially Spanish 
features. Its single street winds round the bay, and follow¬ 
ing its tortuous passages one can find many pictures; gloomy 
alleys, with a peep through of the bay bathed in sunlight; 
here and there a shrine, stone-covered, rapidly succumbing to 
the wear of sun and wind. The place is as it was two hun¬ 
dred years ago. Time has only knocked the angles off.” 

The most remarkable thing about Brangwyn is his color, 
which is clean and clear and beautifully transparent. He 
shows a vigorous handling of light and shade. He usually 
masses his figures in the foreground, making them dark to 
emphasize the bright color that he uses in the distance. 


Note: Explain to the children that Brangwyn paints in 
both a high and low key. He uses the low key, or dark 
sombre tones, for the foreground, and the high key, or bright 
colors, for the center of interest in the background. His fig¬ 
ures always appear in the foreground. 

Brangwyn has great strength and breadth in execution. 
He sees everything in a big way, eliminating unimportant 
details which would tend to destroy the effect of his picture 
as a whole, and confining his attention to the big masses. 
His color is always vital, and is dominating by its contrast 
between cold and warm hues. 

“The Pilots” was painted in 1892, during the trip Brang¬ 
wyn took with the late Arthur Melville. It was first exhibited 
before the Royal British Artists and was awarded a medal 
at the Chicago Exhibition of 1894. 


SUBJECT: Portrait of the Artist 
(National Gallery, London) 

ARTIST: Rembrandt Harmensz Van Ryu—(Dutch) 

This is a picture that the great artist Rembrandt painted 
of himself. It was made during his earlier years when he paid 
very close attention to detail and did not use such strong 
lighting as he did in his later work. He shows himself stand¬ 
ing at a window. This was one of his favorite ways of posing 
his subjects so the window could make a frame and give 
the necessary depth for the background. 

Page sixty-two 


Contrast the colors of this picture with those of the “Old 
Woman Cutting Her Nails.” Again there is the envelopment 
of light, but it is more diffused. The background, the flesh, 
the velvety cloth of the coat, and all the details are skillfully 
painted. Rembrandt always kept to browns and never used 
the grays of Velasquez who lived at the same time. 


Note: In this example, the quality of richness and the 
beautiful rendition of chiaroscuro are the marks of Rembrandt 
himself. What depth there is in the velvet shadows and what 
luminosity in the hands and face! Rembrandt never used 
primary colors, and always painted in a low key. 

The striking balance of face and hands in this picture is 
characteristic. Observe how these seem to catch all the light 
of the canvas. A study of the modified light of the railing, 
as it appears at either side of the arm, is important. The com¬ 
position is built on the triangular form. 


SUBJECT: Mona Lisa —(Louvre, Paris) 

(Lee’za) 

ARTIST: Leonardo Da Vinci—(Italian) 

(dah Virichee) 

This is one of the most popular paintings in the world. Da 
Vinci spent four years in its production, and the man who 
ordered the picture never claimed it, so when Leonardo died 
in France it was numbered among his possessions and finally 
found its way to the Louvre. 

About ten years ago the picture was stolen from the Louvre 
in a moment while the guard’s back was turned. As it was 
very valuable everybody was upset over the loss, the direc¬ 
tor of the Louvre lost his position, and great rewards were 
offered for its recovery. The robber had let himself out of 
the building with a key which he threw away. Finally the 
picture was found in a garret in Pisa, Italy, the country of 
Leonardo, and was returned to the Louvre. It had been 
stolen by a workman who was insane and who worshipped 
the picture so much that he wanted it with him all the time. 

The mysterious smile of the Mona Lisa is one of its great 
charms. It is said the artist used to hire musicians to sing 
and play within hearing of the sitter, in order to encourage 

Page sixty-three 


the relaxed expression that looks like a smile. The painting 
is great because of its simplicity of expression. It is done 
without any apparent effort, and the modeling of the face 
and hands is exquisite. The right hand is regarded as the 
most beautifully painted hand in existence. 

The picture has been cracked with, age and has peeled. It 
has little fissures all over it, and in restoring it some of the 
glazes used in painting have been removed. Often a great 
part of the value of a painting is lost in this way. Harvard 
University is establishing a special school for the study of 
methods of restoring and preserving old paintings. This will 
be very helpful because the United States has acquired so 
many expensive paintings which must be permanently saved. 


Note: We never again shall know the actual beauty of 
this work. Its drawing is partly there, but the portions that 
were shaped by the blending of colors have been lost through 
the fading of the pigments. We, therefore, can only guess at 
what the real expression of sweetness may have been. Orig¬ 
inally the shadows, which have shrunken into hollows, were 
only slight depressions in the face. Hence the softness of 
contour must have been remarkable. With the vitality of 
color, also, and the pliant skin, the charm of this work can 
scarcely be imagined. Fortunate we are that, in spite of its 
numerous rubbings and restorations, it comes down to us as 
perfectly as it does. 

All of Leonardo’s work was well modeled. He was not 
only a painter, but also a sculptor, and it is small wonder that 
he was able to show the remarkable modeling he did in the 
hands and features of this subject. Da Vinci was called the 
universal genius, for in addition to being a painter and sculp¬ 
tor he was a writer, an architect, a scientist, an inventor, and 
a philosopher. This type of face and this type of expression 
seem to have influenced Leonardo’s brush in all his work, 
some say on account of his extreme admiration for the Donna 
Gioconda, whom he considered the ideal of womanly beauty, 
and who posed for many of his pictures. 


Page sixty-four 


SUBJECT: The Wine Press 

(Phillips Memorial Gallery, Washington) 

ARTIST: Pierre Puvis De Chavannes —(French) 
(Pea air Poo'vee de Shay van) 


This picture is by an artist whose work is always decor¬ 
ative, nearly all of it having been designed especially for 
mural paintings. The artist’s principles of simplicity and re¬ 
serve have influenced the entire decorative movement of the 
last half century. His decorations are well known in America, 
the ones in the Boston Public Library being the most famous 
mural paintings in the country. 

This picture is painted simply and is subdued in tone, a 
characteristic of all good mural decorations. It shows a per¬ 
fect gradation of color scheme and a beautiful harmony of 
blue, gray and pink. The stronger note of blue balances the 
whole composition. 


Note: Puvis de Chavannes was an idealist who created 
forms, which, although abstract, were still akin to the world 
about us. Values, largeness of conception, and the detached 
point of view, as well as the requisite flatness of planes—for 
fitting pictorial units into architectural spaces—were the dif¬ 
ficult problems which he mastered to a remarkable degree. 

If you will notice the draperies of the two standing fig¬ 
ures, you will see, by half closing your eyes, that their values 
are alike. There is a darker note in the gray wine press, but 
that is repeated in the value of the oxen, and in the basket 
being emptied into the press. The background, with the ex¬ 
ception of a few flecks of light, is still in a lower key, and the 
garment of the seated figure is the darkest note of all. Ask 
the pupils to half close their eyes and try to find the lightest 
spot. 


Page sixty-five 


SUBJECT: Mrs. Robinson as Perdita 
(National Gallery, London) 

ARTIST: Thomas Gainsborough—(English) 

Gainsborough, as well as other portrait painters of his day, 
frequently painted likenesses of celebrated actresses. Mrs. 
Robinson, who is famous for her acting of “Perdita,” a char¬ 
acter in a popular play of the time, is shown here. See how 
simple and graceful the pose is. The light figure is treated as 
a whole in relation to the dark background. The composition 
forms a triangle. The background is typical of Gainsborough 
and shows his love of the out-of-doors. He always preferred 
painting landscapes (landskips, as he called them), but people 
loved his portraits and refused to recognize his landscapes. 

The drawing shows an intimate knowledge of the human 
form. There is no uncertainty of proportion in spite of the 
voluminous dress. The blue bow on the waist is an inter¬ 
esting color note. The introduction of the dog skillfully fills 
the space at the right of the figure. 


Note: This is a distinguished example of the English 
school of portraiture. It affords an adequate opportunity for 
the study of Gainsborough's individual technique, which con¬ 
sists of a feathery application of pigment. The result obtained 
is quite elusive, and the atmospheric effect is delightful. In 
presenting a work of this sort to a class, never lose sight of 
an opportunity to show the relation of various colors, such as 
the blue bows on the head and bodice and the sky, the blue- 
gray tree, and the black in the slippers and at the throat. 


Page sixty-six 


Grade Eight 


SUBJECT: Embarcation for Cythera (Louvre, Paris) 

ARTIST: Jean Antoine Watteau —(French) 

(Ant wan Wat' toe) 

“In this poetically conceived picture, which shows a crowd 
of gallant youths and fair maidens about to embark for the 
legendary isle of Perfect bliss/' writes Sir William Orpen, 
“Watteau revealed a science of color harmony which was one 
hundred and fifty years ahead of his day." This, from the 
leading contemporary British portrait painter, is an author¬ 
itative comment of distinct" importance. Sir William goes on 
to say that when this picture was painted Watteau had already 
built up an individual manner of technique which was entirely 
his own. 

His method was to create the feeling of atmosphere by 
using light touches of pure color placed in proper harmony. 
He did not paint solidly. His detail was expressed in a series 
of tiny strokes which gave the appearance of wondrous lum¬ 
inosity and vibration. Orpen asserts that one might count on 
the fingers of the right hand the painters of all time who have 
been of superior excellence, both in color and in draughtsman¬ 
ship. “Numbered among these would be the radiant French 
genius of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries— 
Antoine Watteau." A minute study of his separate figures 
reveals the knowledge of skillful drawing, and the joyous hues 
of the morning illumine his canvases with matchless harmony. 


Note: The modern island of Cerigo, off the southern coast 
of Greece, is the site of this mythical land, consecrated to the 
goddess of “love." The natural charms of this island consist 
mostly of rocky formations, divided by streams, and of two 
enormous caves of marvelous beauty. In Watteau’s interpre¬ 
tation, the spirit of this idyllic abode has been caught with a 
tender, lilting grace, which raises it above the trivial into 
the realm of true poetry. 


Page sixty-seven 


SUBJECT: The Mill (Ryks Museum, Amsterdam) 

ARTIST: Jacob Van Ruisdael—(Dutch) 

( Roys-dale) 

This picture is painted in a very simple and convincing 
manner. It has an interesting sky line, with the tops of the 
houses and the Dutch castle just showing above the trees, and 
the windmill standing in bold relief. The two masts project¬ 
ing beyond the point indicate that a boat is moored in the 
inlet. This is apparently an actual Dutch scene of the latter 
part of the 17th Century. Note the beautiful lighting. The 
picture was evidently painted late in the afternoon, as the 
windmill casts a shadow on the red roof of the house. 

•It would be interesting to draw an outline of the pattern 
of this picture to show the distribution of masses. By dark¬ 
ening the immediate foreground and throwing a shadow over 
the point, and showing the sun playing hide-and-seek along the 
piles, the artist has succeeded in increasing the effect of 
distance. 


Note: First of all, point out to the children the interest¬ 
ing lighting of this picture. The shadow covering the point 
of land is probably caused by a passing cloud, and along the 
tops and sides of the piles at the right the sun is playing 
lightly. 

Then show the rendering of values. There are four big 
planes which increase the illusion of distance: (1) The imme¬ 
diate foreground, dark; (2) the first point of land, less in¬ 
tense; (3) the second point of land, across the inlet, is still 
lighter; (4) the hills on the horizon, the lightest in value. The 
introduction of the little sailing boat serves to throw the 
horizon line back. 


SUBJECT: The Doge—(National Gallery, London) 

ARTIST: Giovanni Bellini—(Italian) 

(Gee o variny Bell ee’ nee) 

This is really an epic painting. It is a character study of 
a doge of Venice. The doges had supreme power as rulers. 
This portrait tells the story of the man and you can analyze 

Page sixty-eight 


his character clearly because the artist has caught every im¬ 
portant expression. Power, decision, pride, dignity, fearless¬ 
ness, self-control and serenity are portrayed. The great critic 
John C. Van Dyck, says that this face shows “majestic calm¬ 
ness.” Observe the stateliness of carriage and the searching 
gaze in the clear blue eyes. The modeling of the features is 
exquisitely done. 

The costume offers an interesting study in textures. It 
was the custom of artists in Bellini’s time to reproduce the 
design of the materials with great exactness. In this way 
many beautiful examples of the texture of the materials have 
been preserved for us. The design of the material of the 
doge’s costume is elaborate; yet it has been painted so well 
that we are not over conscious of it. The figure stands out 
clearly from the simple background. The doge is looking 
over a marble casement on which the artist has inscribed his 
name. 


Note: This picture is really a contrast of reds and blues— 
warm and cool colors. Draw attention to the striking blue 
background and the motif of blue that runs all through the 
cloak. In spite of the almost photographic rendering of tex¬ 
tile details, the figure as a whole takes its proper place behind 
the casement frame. 


SUBJECT: Elizabeth of Austria —(Louvre, Paris) 

ARTIST: Francois Clouet —(French) 

( Frahn-swah Cloo-ay’) 

The first thing that strikes the eye in looking at this pic¬ 
ture is the ruff about the neck with every dainty point and 
lacy opening showing perfectly. Then the jewels on the dress 
scintillate as though they were real. Every pearl and ruby 
and amethyst stands out so clearly that no detail of the elabor¬ 
ate court costume is lost. The fine jewelled band across the 
hair can be studied as easily as the ones in glass cases at the 
museums. 

The artist was a great genius in painting detail. He repro¬ 
duced this costume so successfully that it is considered a valu¬ 
able historical document as well as a gem of art. The con¬ 
trast between the materials of the costume and the flesh is 


Page sixty-nine 


especially interesting. The treatment somewhat resembles 
the technique of Holbein. The artist has also been able to 
catch the fleeting expression of the sitter which shows a 
charming personality. 


Note: Draw attention to the lighting of the picture-—how 
it falls on face and hands—and the soft rotundity of forms. 
Note the beautiful way in which the hair is parted and rolled 
back smoothly from the forehead. The arched eyebrows and 
high forehead are characteristic of the house of Hapsburg. 
The delicately chiseled mouth and nose have been painted 
without resorting to heavy shadows for emphasis, which is a 
feature of this artist’s work. The background has purposely 
been kept simple so that the attention may center on the 
figure. 


SUBJECT: Salome—(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Alexander G. H. Regnault—(French) 

(Ray 1 -no) 

This picture is a fine example of the latest work of Regnault 
who was killed in the Franco Prussian War. It is a study in 
yellow, the only dark color being Salome’s hair. Yellow 
dominates every object in the picture, creating the feeling of 
warmth. This yellow, with the deft touches of red, gives an 
oriental atmosphere, to properly carry out the story of Salome. 
There is oriental design in the stool and rugs and in the scim¬ 
itar with its ivory handle. There is a delicate harmony be¬ 
tween the soft folds of the yellow silk hangings in the back¬ 
ground and the yellow waist. 

Note: This composition adequately expresses the sub¬ 
ject. The rich oriental coloring gives the necessary atmo¬ 
sphere for a story of this type. The black hair has been in¬ 
troduced in relation to the yellow background and paler flesh. 
Painted without studied effort, all the lines are graceful and 
serve to break any awkward angle. For instance, the angle 
of the elbow is broken by the yellow waist and the feet have 
been placed to avoid any awkward angle of the legs. Regnault 
was a consummate draughtsman. His painting of the tran¬ 
sparent skirt with the form showing beneath, is one of the 
finest examples of this kind of craftsmanship in existence. 

Page seventy 


SUBJECT: Mrs. Siddons—(National Gallery, London) 
ARTIST: Thomas Gainsborough—(English) 


This portrait is a fine example of Gainsborough’s best style, 
for it was painted when he was at the height of his career. 
Delicacy and grace are its outstanding qualities. The sitter 
was an illustrious English actress named Mrs. Siddons, whose 
portrayal of Lady Macbeth enthralled the audiences of her 
day. The costume dates about 1780. 

The red curtain in the background harmonizes with the 
black hat which has been painted with almost total absence 
of detail. This hat, and the white hair showing beneath it, 
emphasize the color of the flesh. The introduction of the blue 
scarf, folded across the waist, is an interesting color note 
which is further carried out in the stripes of the dress. The 
yellow shawl seen at the right repeats the tone of the flesh, 
giving balance to the picture. 


Note: The School of English Portrait Painters was noted 
for the style its members put into their work. There was 
always a certain dash in their execution which differentiated 
them from other portrait painters. Gainsborough’s style is 
particularly distinctive, and in this picture of Mrs. Siddons 
it is seen at its best. The canvas was executed in 1784 when 
she was twenty-nine years old. The features reflect superbly 
the passions of Lady Macbeth, and Gainsborough instinctively 
perceived that a somewhat solemn flow of mass and hue 
would form a more coherent setting to her loveliness than his 
easier and more careless arrangement. 

He lavished more research on the portrait than was usual 
with a painter of his extraordinary facility. He repeatedly 
altered the nose, at last exclaiming in comic wrath: “Con¬ 
found your nose, Madame, there’s no end to it!” 


SUBJECT: Madame Sophie —(Palace of Versailles) 

ARTIST: Jean Marc Nattier —(French) 

{Nat'yea) 

This picture is interesting because of the total absence of 
black. All the whites, including the hair, are painted in color, 

Page seventy-one 


without resorting to the use of dark pigment. The soft edges 
of the picture show the artist’s skill in using outlines to ex¬ 
press distance. For instance, the outline of the hand is 
sharply defined, making it stand out from the background, 
while the outline of the hair gradually fades into the back¬ 
ground, because it is farther away. 

The costume is of the Louis XV period, during the vogue 
for powdered hair, hoop skirts, frilly laces, ribbons, and artifi¬ 
cial flowers. The manners were accordingly elegant and re¬ 
strained, all of which Nattier has conveyed to us in this ar¬ 
tistic portrait of Madame Sophie. 


Note: An important feature of Nattier’s work is the man¬ 
ner in which he painted detail in his accessories so as not to 
conflict with the importance of the subject itself. Notice, for 
instance, the exquisite way in which the hand holding the 
scarf, and the ruffled sleeve, have been painted so as to form 
a beautiful harmony of color and design. The light falling 
from above throws the sleeve at the elbow into the back¬ 
ground. This is emphasized by the painting of the light rib¬ 
bon. The detail of the lace and dress material are worth con¬ 
sideration. The transparent lace mantilla serves to break 
the awkward angle of the shoulder besides echoing the brown 
of the bodice. 


SUBJECT: Hope—(Tate Gallery, London) 
ARTIST: George Frederick Watts—(English) 

This is a symbolic picture. The artist was a man with 
deep poetic feeling who always aimed to express a high and 
abstract emotion in his paintings. He broke away completely 
from old traditions of art, but having spent a number of years 
studying in Italy, he used the coloring of the Venetian School. 
He was also influenced by the ancient Greek sculpture, espe¬ 
cially by the beautiful Elgin marbles. The drapery of the 
figure Hope shows this influence. 

This figure is pathetic in its fragile beauty, seated alone on 
the earth, blindfolded, tuning a melody to the only remaining 
string of the lyre. The design is very pleasing. It is conceived 
in a big way, as the entire interest depends upon the one fig¬ 
ure and its arrangement. Notice the manner in which the 

Page seventy-two 


head is placed within the lyre and the relation of the head 
to the hands. The outer line of the lyre is broken by the 
hand clasping it, which unites with the knee in forming a 
beautiful curve. The right hand and arm and the arrangement 
of the lower part of the body form a rhythmic sweep that uni¬ 
fies the whole figure. 


Note: This picture was painted in 1885 and given to the 
nation in 1897. Watts gave freely of his masterpieces to his 
country. He was a sincere patriot, but his tastes were so 
simple and democratic that he twice refused the baronetcy 
offered him. When twenty-five years of age he won a prize 
of three hundred pounds and went to Florence where he made 
the friendship of Lord and Lady Holland who became his 
patrons and ordered portraits of themselves and their friends. 
It was during this visit that Watts became devoted to the 
Italian coloring which later became an integral part of his art. 
He was self taught. He began painting in boyhood, making 
small'pictures of cavaliers and roundheads. W. B. Yeats, the 
Irish poet, says of him: 

“Watts was a true artist, both poet and teacher, and ren¬ 
dered into imaginative form the most exalted human love—• 
the clearest vision of human life. The eternal truths which 
he paints are the same sort of ideas that come to us in modern 
poetry, especially from Browning and Whitman, while Emer¬ 
son, too, had this same idea of Love and Life. Lines and 
motives from these poets live anew for us as we gaze at Watts’ 
work.” 


SUBJECT: Erasmus—(Louvre, Paris) 

ARTIST: Hans Holbein—(German) 

This is a picture of the great Dutch scholar and theologian, 
Erasmus, painted on a small wooden panel, and now hanging 
in the Louvre. Erasmus lived during the reign of Henry VIII 
and spent a large part of his life in Cambridge, England, as a 
professor. He was the most noted scholar of his day and 
among other interesting works he translated the bible into 
English for the king. Holbein was his protege and his de¬ 
voted admirer. Erasmus took him to England, where he did 
most of his w r ork. His canvases and drawings at Windsor 

Page seventy-three 


Castle are today among the most valuable art and historical 
records in the country. 

This picture of Erasmus was painted when Holbein was a 
young man. He called it “a work of Love.” Because of his 
love and respect for Erasmus, and his skill as a painter, he 
created in this portrait one of the greatest masterpieces of all 
time. 

The placing of the figure on the canvas is very pleasing, 
and forms a simple pattern. There is no affectation whatso¬ 
ever in its arrangement. As you first look at the picture, 
you see the features and the expressive hands. The hands, 
as well as the face, show the strength and thoughtfulness of the 
scholar. Every essential line of the features has been painted 
with great care, yet without detracting from the effect of the 
portrait as a whole. The painting of the cap and gown is 
devoid of detail, yet their character is retained. In this way 
the artist focuses interest on the important parts of the pic¬ 
ture. When we realize that this picture was painted before 
Erasmus died in 1536, it is astonishing that it has retained so 
much of its original brilliancy of color. 


Note: Note the simplicity with which this picture is com¬ 
posed. The two dark stripes in the wall hanging- balance the 
dark coat and cap, and the scattered spots of dull red relieve 
the monotonous background. The entering line of the cuff, 
taken up by the white paper and turned by the direction of the 
pencil toward the face, is a device for attracting attention to 
the center of interest. As will readily be seen, the technique 
of this example is after the manner of all the early masters. 
It lacks, therefore, the general sweep and looseness of brush 
that was acquired in the late 16th Century. 

Within recent years, many leaders of the cult of simple 
masses have derived their inspiration from the Japanese, but 
the early masters naively uttered the truths of form as they 
appeared to them. In their performance, therefore, one feels 
a note of sincerity and lack of affectation, which, when com¬ 
bined with able draughtsmanship, establishes them in the fore¬ 
most ranks of immortal art. 


Page seventy-four 


SUBJECT: The Last Supper 

(Church of Santa Maria Delle Grazie, Milan) 

ARTIST: Leonardo Da Vinci—(Italian) 

(Lay o nardo Dah Virichy) 


A faded fresco is all that is left of Leonardo’s masterpiece, 
painted on the wall of the refectory of a monastery in Milan, 
Italy. We can only guess what the original colors and the 
original effect of this fresco must have been. The crumbling 
wall, upon which it is painted, has ravished the surface to 
such an extent that only a mottled mass of color is distinguish¬ 
able in certain parts of the picture. No attempt was made to 
preserve it. Monks in the eighteenth century even cut a door¬ 
way through the wall, defacing the lower part, as shown by 
the rectangular depression at the bottom of the picture. 

It is to the disgrace of Napoleon’s invasion of Italy that 
his cavalry converted the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie 
into a stable and further demolished Leonardo’s great fresco 
by using it as a target at which to throw things for amuse¬ 
ment. This was in 1796. Four years later the monastery was 
flooded, and, during the supremacy of Austria the national 
arms of that country were nailed above the head of Christ. 
Such are some of the vicissitudes through which the picture 
has passed. Fortunately, however, we have in the Louvre a 
fairly creditable copy by Luini, executed in 1515, just seven¬ 
teen years after the completion of the original. This was done 
at the command of Francis I of France, who had been so im¬ 
pressed with the fresco that he had even considered having 
it removed to Paris. 

The original painting has still sufficient beauty to merit 
the title of one of the finest decorations ever painted. Separ¬ 
ated into groups of threes, the disciples, in their consternation 
at the words, “Verily, verily, I say unto you that one of you 
shall betray me,” are shown in different dramatic attitudes. 
The guilty Judas, second from the Savior’s right hand, draws 
away as he holds the bag of gold. The beloved St. John, be¬ 
tween him and Jesus, droops his head in sorrow. Peter, hold¬ 
ing his knife at his side, as if in defense of his Master, con¬ 
verses with John in animated protests. Philip, third from the 
Christ on the other side, is pictured in an attitude of intense 
grief. 

In the center, the calm, sublime figure of Jesus attracts the 
eye, not only from its triangular shape and the poignant ex¬ 
pression of the features, but from His isolation in front of the 

Page seventy-five 


window. Red, having the greatest carrying power, is shown 
in its brightest hue in the coat of Jesus. Gradations of red 
into a dull gold are arranged on either side. The different 
shades of blue are interesting. 


Note: The style of costume in this work is distinctly 
Italian, and of the prevailing fashion of the period. The 15th 
Century note is also repeated in the table service, the drawn- 
work cloth, and in the Renaissance pattern of the wall panels. 
Artists of this time had not awakened to the virtue of historical 
research. Thus nowhere do we see the Jewish cast of features 
for Bible characters. These are represented variously as 
Dutch, Flemish, German, Italian, Spanish, or French, accord¬ 
ing to the country in which they were conceived. 

The background of this picture affords a very interesting 
study in perspective. Draw the attention of the class to the 
way the lines converge to the vanishing- point. The panels 
apparently become closer together and are smaller as they re¬ 
cede from the eye. 


Page seventy-six 


Grade Nine 


SUBJECT: The Ring—(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: John W. Alexander—(American) 

Everything about this picture is harmonious to the last 
degree. The theme is distinctly American and is interpreted 
as only a great American artist could do it. This is a fine 
example with which to begin the study of the American School 
of painting, which has an individuality distinctly its own. 

The artist was apparently in close sympathy with his sub¬ 
ject, for every part of the picture has been painted with great 
care. The balance of line is an interesting thing to study. 
The composition of the picture almost forms a semi-circle in 
its sweep from the head at the upper left to the hat at the 
lower right. It shows the interior of an American house on a 
warm summer afternoon. The fiancee has just come in from 
a walk and is sitting in a corner of the couch admiring her 
engagement ring. The light which falls through the partly 
drawn curtains throws her head into relief. The simple 
shadow on the head and the exquisite modeling of the feat¬ 
ures, caused by the reflected light from the wall, show a 
mastery of handling light and shade. 


Note: Begin the study of the American painters as sym¬ 
pathetically as possible, so that the students will appreciate 
the artists of their own country and will learn to recognize the 
leaders. The choice given here includes those who have stood 
the test of time—who have made a permanent contribution to 
American art. 

John W. Alexander painted thinly on very coarse canvas, 
like burlap, so the grain would show easily through the paint. 
This is one of the outstanding features of his work. He has 
produced some of the finest and most original mural decora¬ 
tions that have been painted in this or any other country dur¬ 
ing the 19th Century. Noteworthy among these are the mag- 

Page seventy-seven 


nificent decorations in the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, il¬ 
lustrating the steel industry; and the six lunettes in the Library 
of Congress in Washington, called the ‘'Evolution of the Book” 
with which we are all familiar. 


SUBJECT: Still Life—(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 
ARTIST: William M. Chase—(American) 

For centuries artists have painted Still Life because it 
offers such a splendid opportunity to handle a number of the 
problems of painting. By the use of inanimate objects, the 
artist has a fine range of choice in composition, color scheme, 
values and texture. 

We have here a still life by a painter who has left an in¬ 
delible impression on the.history of American art, both as a 
craftsman and as a teacher. From the days when he was a 
brilliant student in Munich to the closing years of his life, 
everything that he did had an important bearing upon the de¬ 
velopment of our national art. Many of our noted painters 
today were at one time his pupils. 

Chase was a distinguished portrait painter, but he is also 
noted for his still life. Among his still life subjects his paint¬ 
ing of fish is most noteworthy, and this picture is a splendid 
example. It is enveloped in atmosphere. The note of color 
struck by the red fruit balances the red of the bowl in the 
background. Together with the green it adds color to the 
whole picture. The fish have been painted most convincingly. 
One can almost feel the scales and the solidity of the bodies. 
The introduction of the copper kettle serves as a necessary 
balance to the red bowl and breaks the plainness or emptiness 
of the background. 


Note: In considering this work, the difference between 
the intensity of color in the apple and the bowl, and the dif¬ 
ference between the values of the white fish and the white lin¬ 
ing of the bowl are important. The subtle accent of brighter 
green in the peppers assists in giving interest to the green 
table cover. There is a clever bit of placing in the dark tail 
of the white fish against the body of the fish at the left. The 
complementary colors of the apple and peppers are consider¬ 
ably intensified by their proximity to each other. 

Page seventy-eight 


Chase’s dexterity was amazing. He knew exactly what 
he wanted to paint and put it on the canvas without altering 
a stroke. 


SUBJECT: Flower Girl in Holland—(Art Institute, Chicago) 
ARTIST: George Hitchcock—(American) 

This is a most refreshing picture with charming color. It is 
a scene in Holland on a morning late in spring, and shows a 
flower girl with her brilliant bouquets and colorful costume. 
The green yoke from which the baskets are suspended, and the 
green apron and purple dress, are in perfect tune with the 
colors of the flowers. The figure is in the shadow cast by the 
building; yet stands out clearly because of the value of the 
light dress in contrast to the tree trunk behind. 

No part of the picture is without interest. It is all color. 
Note for instance, the great amount of color in the dark shut¬ 
ter and trap door in the wall, and in the fleecy clouds and stone 
wall. It is interesting to study the problem of values presented 
by the dark surfaces and the trees. Each tree becomes lighter 
in value as it recedes from the eye. One can see way off in the 
picture; it has such a fine perspective. The expanse of grass 
at the left aids in creating the illusion of distance. The lace¬ 
like pattern of the shadows on the road emphasizes the bril¬ 
liancy of the sunlight. The little white gate at the right gives 
a touch of interest to the background. Notice the way the 
road bends, with the canal following it. The clump of trees 
adds to the perspective. The house is apparently at the edge 
of the village. 


Note: Hitchcock spent most of his life in the Netherlands, 
and was noted for his paintings of Dutch flower gardens. He 
was influenced by the Dutch School but put more color into 
his pictures than they did. Most of the Dutch paintings had 
sombre tones, but Hitchcock painted in a high key. In this 
picture the analogous colors of the girl’s costume are delight¬ 
ful in their relation to the bright-hued flowers. Observe how 
the yellow is placed in contact with its direct complement in 
the skirt; and how the whites have been tinged with blue, to 
blend harmoniously with the apron. 


Page seventy-nine 


SUBJECT: Fog Warning—(Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) 
ARTIST: Winslow Homer—(American) 


A knowledge of the anatomy of waves, in tempest and in 
calm, was the great offering of Winslow Homer to American 
art. The expanse, the movement, the sublimity of the sea 
have nowhere been more dramatically portrayed. His are the 
sort of marines that make the heart throb with the surge of 
the waves. You can actually feel the sea in this picture. The 
water looks really wet and you can sense the cold of the ap¬ 
proaching fog. The fisherman has been out in the boat and is 
returning to the fishing vessel which has just sounded a warn¬ 
ing of the fog. He is hurrying to get back to the ship and is 
pulling hard against the strong waves. A giant cod is in his 
boat. Notice the way the white caps are rising and how the 
boat rocks in the waves, being lifted up by them. How mar¬ 
velously the sky reflects in the leaden surfaces of the water! 
And how interestingly each small crest raises its head, as if it 
were a summit in a mountain chain, the highest of these 
capped with white. 


Note: Winslow Homer is known the world over for his 
paintings of the sea. He lived on the coast of Maine and stu¬ 
died the sea in all its moods. This is his best known sea pic¬ 
ture. It is painted in a low key, yet with a great deal of 
color. An interesting point to note is the shadow cast by the 
boat on the waves. The monotonous outline of the gunwhale 
is broken by the oars, the man’s head and the tail of the fish. 
The whole picture conveys a dramatic sense of action. 


SUBJECT: Northeaster 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Winslow Homer—(American) 

The first impression one gets of this painting, as of all 
Homer’s interpretations of the sea, is a feeling of great power. 
A northeaster is blowing and dashing the angry waves against 
the coast. The sea moves in the picture. It is full of life. 
We can feel the quality of the water. The great mass of 
brown in the foreground contrasts magnificently with the 
cloud of spray and the dashing billows, and balances the 

Page eighty 


brown of the overcast sky. The dark emphasizes the color in 
the whites. The green color and opalescent foam of the 
breakers gives a satisfying sense of reality. Notice how the 
sky has been darkened close to the white spray to give it 
volume. In the same way the under surface of the foam is 
darkened and its outline is sharp against the sky. 

Note: The pupils will sense the breadth and grandeur of 
this canvas. It gives a graphic message. A superb mingling 
of many pigments in the sky and in the rocks, resulting in 
what we call “singing color,” gives opportunity for detailed 
analysis. In addition to the splendid pattern of foam on the 
waves, the devices used to give the appearance of movement 
should be discussed. 


SUBJECT: After a Summer Shower 

(Art Institute, Chicago) 

ARTIST: George Inness—(American) 

In this picture the artist has caught the great moment of 
rarified atmosphere, following a summer shower. The storm 
cloud has cleared away and there is a radiance illuminating 
both sky and ground. This gives the adjacent darkness a 
dramatic element of great intensity. There is a wonderful 
sense of distance. The foreground has been kept simple in 
order to concentrate attention on the middle distance. 

The outlines of the trees are soft and are lost against the 
pale blue sky. The line of the clump of trees unites with the 
cloud formation to develop a pattern of striking beauty. The 
delicate tracery of the dead tree silhouetted against the cloud 
serves to unite the lights and darks. Only an artist of con¬ 
summate ability could have painted the delicate transition of 
tone between the yellow field, the low trees, the roof tops and 
the sky. The green grass has a wonderful transparency. 

Inness is the type of artist who comes only once in a 
generation to any country. He was not only the greatest 
American landscape painter, but one of the greatest land¬ 
scape painters that ever lived. He ranks with Constable, 
Turner, and Hobbema. Inness was absolutely American in 
his feeling and temperament. He specialized in the effects 
of nature. All the moods of nature—storm, calm, winter and 
summer, are shown in their effect upon the objects around 

Page eighty-one 


them. He was a picturesque character, a very religious man 
and all his work has a spiritual quality that is outstanding. 
The subtleties of his pictures are so wonderful and they are 
so greatly appreciated that the canvases bring fabulous prices. 

Inness always worked standing, and while he began ra- 
pidfy and nervously, his speed would diminish and his nerves 
steady as he advanced. There were invariably a dozen or more 
pictures in various stages of completion in his studio. In days 
of enthusiasm his energy was extraordinary. He would often 
work fifteen hours without stopping. One of the most pleas¬ 
ing traits of his character was his readiness to help young 
artists. He would welcome any that came into his studio and 
was always ready to criticise and advise, but refused to take 
any pupils saying “I have had one for a very long time, and 
he is more than enough for me. The more I teach him the 
less he knows, and the older he grows the farther he is from 
what he ought to be.” He always believed that the pursuit 
of art was its own reward. 

“Think, work, do your best,” he said. “Pass your verdict 
upon yourself, if you are capable of criticising yourself. The 
verdict of the world will be passed in due time, and it will 
be a just one, even if it does not sustain that of prize commit¬ 
tees and juries of award.” 


Note: Inness has been styled the “Father of American 
Landscape.” “After a Summer Shower” is a masterpiece. It 
was executed in 1894, the last year of the artist’s life and the 
time of his richest development. The gallery where it hangs has 
been dedicated to Inness, in different periods of his career, 
beginning with 1867. The collection, comprising twenty-one 
examples, is the generous gift of Mr. Edward B. Butler. 

Inness was his own teacher. His method of painting was 
to cover the whole canvas with a thin glaze of Indian red, to 
touch in the main masses of shadow in black; and then to work 
on this foundation, gradually bringing the whole picture for¬ 
ward by constant working over. He said: “Rivers, streams, 
the rippling brook, the hillside, the sky, clouds—all things that 
we see—can convey sentiment if we are in the love of God and 
the desire of truth. Some persons suppose that the landscape 
has no power of conveying human sentiment. But this is a 
great mistake. The civilized landscape can; and therefore, I 
love it more and think it more worthy of reproduction than 
that which is savage and untamed.” 


Page eighty-two 


SUBJECT: Peace and Plenty 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: George Inness—(American) 

“Peace and Plenty” cannot be compared with “After a Sum¬ 
mer Shower,” because it does not represent the finished style 
of the zenith of the artist’s career. It is valuable, however, 
because Inness paid more attention to minute detail and has 
laid less stress on the effect of atmosphere. The color scheme 
is warm and shows the influence of the Barbizon School, of 
which Millet was the founder. Inness always admired Millet’s 
handling of figures. 

Autumn coloring is used, and the theme is abundance, as 
evidenced by a successful harvest. A prosperous valley is 
shown. In the foreground are the harvested shocks of wheat; 
in the middle distance is a well-filled hay rack. Along the 
river bank the golden sheen of uncut grain makes a striking 
base for the clump of dark trees, silhouetted against the sunset 
sky. The one tree toward the center is the focal point of the 
picture. The contrast between its dark mass and the sun¬ 
bathed hills beyond emphasizes the feeling of abundance and 
tranquility in the landscape. 


Note: This canvas was executed in 1865, after the artist 
had returned from his first European visit. In his riper peri¬ 
ods Inness would not have included so vast an area in any one 
painting. He has, however, done so here with great feeling 
and charm. Have the class compare the technique with that 
in the previous example, “After a Summer Shower,” and ex¬ 
plain how Inness has worked for a fleeting effect of nature, in¬ 
stead of reproducing the scene in its entirety. 


SUBJECT: The Muse of Painting 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: John Lafarge—(American) 

(La Far]) 

This is an allegorical picture to represent the Muse of Paint¬ 
ing. John LaFarge had a leaning toward allegorical painting, 
with a classical flavor. This style of work was well adapted 

Page eighty-three 


to his production of murals and stained glass, for which he 
was famous. His creatures are of the heroic, detached type 
rather than of the world we know. 

This figure is nicely placed on the canvas. The warm 
yellow which the artist employs and the decorative treatment 
of the background remind one of Watt’s paintings. The cool 
green with its deep shadows is in interesting contrast to the 
yellow figure and the colorful clouds. By half closing the eyes 
one can observe that the light thrown on the figure makes it 
lighter in value than the clouds. The blue green of the sky 
repeats the color of the foreground. The abstract attitude of 
the muse, her rapt expression and the composition of t.Ke 
figure are of particular interest. 


Note: Scholarship was the life habit of John LaFarge. 
Whatever he undertook, from the study of law to the adapting 
of opaline glass to his window designs, represented that excel¬ 
lency which is the result of thorough research. His knowledge 
of color, for example, was not casual but scientific to the last 
degree. In the “Muse of Painting,” the cool side of the palette 
has chiefly been employed, with the relief of the yellow gar¬ 
ment and the few touches of the pink in the flowers, in the flesh 
tones, and in the sleeve. These, with the accents of the dark 
tablet, the hair, and tree trunk will be interestingly followed 
by the class. 


SUBJECT: Harp of the Winds 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Homer D. Martin—(American) 

This is a fine composition. The key note of the picture, as 
the title suggests, is the group of delicate poplars growing on 
the farther shore of the Seine. The poetic idea of the wind 
playing through these fragile tree trunks as the fingers pick the 
string of a harp, is a happy one and may account in a measure 
for the popularity of the work. 

The scene is typical of Normandy. The winding of the 
river, with the little town on its bank, gives us a feeling of 
distance. The pattern of the picture is pleasing. The big bank 
and the curve of the beach in the foreground have been pur¬ 
posely introduced in order to give the poplar trees their cor- 

Page eighty-four 


rect value as the center of interest. Without the bank these 
trees would look weak, and not so far away. The reflection 
of the trees in the water carries out their beautiful pattern. 
The delicate colors of a gray day add to the poetic feeling 
that the picture inspires. 


Note: Painted almost entirely in cool hues, this cele¬ 
brated work, a favorite of the Metropolitan Museum, is an ex¬ 
ample of the artist’s fresh and happy point of view. The 
tenderness of coloring is exceptional. A few touches of rust 
brown on the farther shore at the right form a balance to the 
more delicate tints of pink and tan on the left. Call attention 
to the graceful, sweeping line of the horizon. The class might 
draw an outline of the picture to show its simple, yet con¬ 
vincing composition. 


SUBJECT: Moret Sur Loing 

(Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) 

ARTIST: William L. Picknell—(American) 

William Lamb Picknell, who studied with George Inness 
while he was in Europe, is the author of this delightful rural 
scene. The serene, peaceful village of Moret is colorfully 
reflected in the surface of the Loing. Situated a short distance 
from Paris at the juncture of the Loing and the Seine, the 
quiet hamlet of Moret remains as it was a century ago. 

The colors are those of midsummer. The little red roofs 
on the right bank and the red on the boats form a pleasing 
note. Observe the reflection of the sky in the water. If you 
half close your eyes you will see that the reflection is darker 
than the sky. This is due to the fact that sky color is added 
to the color of the water itself. This is always true in nature. 
The reflection of the houses and the trees above them add 
interest to the general composition. 


Note: The freshness of clean country air is apparent 
in this work. The student will appreciate the smokeless sky 
and clear water depths, so attractively displayed. Picknell 
has caught the French rural atmosphere with surprising fidel¬ 
ity. The trees along the river bank, interspersed with the 

Page eighty-five 


little red roofed houses, are typical of this country which lies 
in the district of Fontainebleau, near the town of Barbizon, 
immortalized by Millet, Rousseau, Daubigny, and other mem¬ 
bers of the Barbizon School. 


SUBJECT: Robert de Civrieux 

( Sieve-ree-ay ) 

(Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) 

ARTIST: John Singer Sargent—(American) 

The whole interest of this picture is centered in the boy, 
the background and pattern of the floor covering being sub¬ 
ordinated. There is a feeling of atmosphere in the picture. 
.The subtle shadow of the boy thrown on the curtain helps 
to bring the figure forward. The red bow and stockings are 
pleasingly painted and form a contrast with the black velvet 
suit and the brownish black dog held so tightly in his arms. 
The green curtain is an interesting color note. Notice the 
intensity of color in the white collar and how it contrasts 
with the flesh. The form of the dog breaks the line of the 
shoulder in a pleasing way. 

None of the elements of childhood has been omitted from 
this portrait of little Robert. The chubby ankles and flat- 
heeled slippers, the childish clasp of the hands, and the slightly 
disarranged bow, and the wrists thrust out of the sleeves in 
the effort of holding so great a weight, are characteristic ges¬ 
tures of the child’s years. 


Note: This is an example of the early work of Sargent, 
painted soon after he left Carolus Durand, the French painter, 
under whom he studied. It shows Durand’s influence, which 
is less apparent in Sargent’s mature work. The picture is a 
faithful likeness of a little boy who lived in the early eighties. 
It has very fresh coloring. A comparison between this and 
the Chase portrait reveals the ease with which the artist ad¬ 
justs his vision to his subject. Here the pliant form and subtle 
features of childhood are brushed in with the tenderness be¬ 
fitting the age of the model. In the Chase portrait, on the 
other hand, we see the confident, character-searching strokes 
that express a dynamic personality. 


Page eighty-six 


SUBJECT: William M. Chase—(Metropolitan Museum) 
ARTIST: John Singer Sargent—(American) 

This portrait is a good example of Sargent’s flowing style. 
It shows not only his ability as a draughtsman, but as a color¬ 
ist. It is conceived and executed in a broad, impressive man¬ 
ner. He has caught the characteristics of the sitter, and with 
swift deft strokes has conveyed them to the canvas. It is 
exceedingly interesting to see the impression which one great 
artist received of another. Sargent shows Chase in a charac¬ 
teristic attitude, with palette in hand as he stands painting 
a picture. Everything about this picture, even to the jewelled 
ring around his tie, is like the man. The portrait abundantly 
demonstrates the facility and ease with which Sargent visu¬ 
alizes his sitters. His technique is excellent. 


Note: Sargent, who has been called “the painter of the 
soul,” has here limned the personality of his friend and con¬ 
frere in a superb manner. Students in the ninth grade are 
quite capable of grasping distinctions, in brush work, as evi¬ 
denced in the examples of Sargent’s work offered for study. 
The splendid modelling of the face, as well as the accurate feel¬ 
ing of form beneath the clothes, denote the accomplished 
draughtsman. The excellent values in the whites and blacks 
indicate the perception of the practised eye. The fine balance 
between the palette and mahl-stick and the right hand holding 
the brush, should be observed. 


SUBJECT: Fairy Tales 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: James J. Shannon—(American) 

Here is a delightfully decorative canvas of much charm. 
The subject chosen has given the artist an opportunity to use 
a decorative background. The picture is a harmony in blue. 
There is a decidedly blue tone to the white dresses of the 
girls,' the mother’s dress, the chair, and even to the open book 
which the mother is holding. The blue used is a cool tone. 
The only warm spots are the flesh tones and the hair, and 
there is a suggestion of blue over them. Observe the import¬ 
ance of the blue hair bow and the blue eyes of the girl in the 

Page eighty-seven 


center in carrying out the general color scheme. 

The artist has caught the intent, rapt expression of these 
children as they are dreamily listening to an old fairy tale 
which their mother is reading. The group has been skillfully 
composed, with a perfect unity of the figures. The figures 
of the two children are united in the composition with the 
mother’s figure by the introduction of the hand and book. The 
tonal qualities are very delicate as shown by the contrast be¬ 
tween the outlines of the garments. 

Note: In this delightful group, posed against a Japanese 
screen of deep turquoise and gray blue, there is a wealth of 
material for study. The transparency of the sleeves, indicated 
in the modified flesh tints underneath, is one of the charming 
bits of texture painting shown. Have the class analyze the 
different spots of color in the hair and realize that a mass of 
any local color is composed of innumerable reflections of 
varied tints and hues. 

Shannon has employed the motif in the design of the 
screen to aid in the balance of his composition. The white 
and red flowers behind the older girl make a pleasing note of 
color in the background. The wings of the bird have been ad¬ 
vantageously used to relieve the monotony of the blue and to 
make a design which will add to the decorative character of 
the picture. 


SUBJECT: George Washington 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Gilbert Stuart—(American) 

This is a remarkable picture of a remarkable man, painted 
by a remarkable artist. The artist’s great ambition was to 
paint a portrait of George Washington whom he profoundly 
admired. While Congress was in session in Philadelphia in 
1794, Stuart presented a letter of introduction to Washington 
from John Jay. He first met Washington at an evening re¬ 
ception and told his friends that, although he had met many 
great men in his life, nobody had ever awakened in him such 
a degree of reverence. For a moment he lost his self posses¬ 
sion, and it was not until he had had several interviews with 
Washington that he felt himself sufficiently at home with his 
sitter to give the portrait the necessary attention. Washing- 

Page eighty-eight 


ton generously gave the artist all the time he needed. 

Stuart’s great ability was to portray the individual. He 
had a keen insight into his sitter’s characteristics and painted 
them with great force. The head was his chief interest in a 
portrait. He said: 

“I work to express sentiment, grace and character. I copy 
the works of God and leave clothes to tailors.” 

He was able, however, to show the necessary details with 
a few deft strokes of his brush. This ability was probably 
developed by his infirmity, for his painting hand always had 
a nervous twitch, which made it necessary for him to work 
as rapidly as possible. He had sureness of touch, and put his 
colors on the canvas with a sudden dash. He is also noted 
for his flesh tones, which were brilliant and transparent. His 
method of painting a portrait was to draw in the head and 
features first; then to sketch in the general tone of complexion. 
For this he seldom required more than four or five sittings, 
and sometimes only three. He never touched the picture ex¬ 
cept when the sitter was in the chair. During the second 
sitting he introduced transparent flesh tints, and at the third 
he awakened the portrait to life, giving it expression. 

Note: Stuart was confident, fearless and courageous in 
his artistic conception, and he ranks high as a colorist. He 
preferred painting on a coarse canvas *or panel of fine ma¬ 
hogany. His wood panels were planed diagonally across the 
surface with a toothing plane, to make them rough like canvas. 
His work shows no appearance of labor and is spontaneous. 

Stuart was gifted along other artistic lines. He was an 
organist of note, a flutist, and also played the harpsichord 
well. He began sketching when a little boy, drawing with 
charcoal or chalk on all the fences in his neighborhood. He 
studied in England under Sir Benjamin West and received the 
friendly criticism of Sir Joshua Reynolds. 


SUBJECT: The Torn Hat 

(Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) 

ARTIST: Thomas Sully—(American) 

This picture makes us think of the lines of Whittier’s poem, 
“The Barefoot Boy.” It is a picture of wholesome, carefree 
boyhood, with healthy, rosy color. The boy looks like any 

Page eighty-nine 


country boy of today who loves his old torn hat; but the pic¬ 
ture was painted over a hundred years ago, and a real boy 
of that time posed for it. In the face the artist shows his 
tenderness toward children whom he loved dearly. He had 
nine children of his own and he liked more than anything 
else to paint their sprightly, smiling faces. 

Sully led a well ordered life. He was a great home man, 
devoted to his family, and with a genial disposition which 
won him a host of friends. He liked to paint historical 
characters and portraits of prominent political leaders. He 
lived for some time in England where he made the friendship 
of the well known English artists of the period. Through 
them and their patrons he was introduced to Queen Victoria, 
of whom he made several portraits. His most noted picture of 
the Queen shows her ascending the throne. The story goes 
that Victoria willingly posed for Sully, considering him ex¬ 
tremely capable, and liked the portraits he made of her. Sully 
was an indefatigible worker and has over 2,631 paintings to 
his credit. 


Note: The manipulation of light and shade is the dominant 
feature of this picture. The light, falling from above, pierces 
the torn rim of the hat, breaking the shadow with an inter¬ 
esting spot of light on the forehead. The features have been 
so subtly modeled that the mass of light on the lower part of 
the face and neck remains unbroken. The artist has used a 
beautiful quality of blue in rendering the coat and has painted 
the hat convincingly. Contrast the white collar with the coat 
and the flesh. 


SUBJECT: Young Woman 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Abbott H. Thayer—(American) 

This portrait typifies Thayer’s conception of young Ameri¬ 
can womanhood. There are two striking qualities in the pic¬ 
ture—the spiritual expression in the face showing a fine ideal¬ 
ism, nobility and cleanness of purpose; and the sculpturesque 
modeling of the figure. It has volume and is so painted that 
it stands out almost like a statue. There is great beauty in 
the plainness of the head and the flowing lines of the robe. 
There is richness in the white, suggestive of old ivory; and 

Page ninety 


the deep background accentuates this richness. 

Thayer was noted for two things. One was his painting 
of feminine types. He was always able to show the under¬ 
lying spiritual qualities of his subjects. The other was his 
knowledge of camouflage. He was the originator of the prin¬ 
ciples of camouflage which were used by the United States 
and other countries during the World War. His original 
models, demonstrating natural protective coloring, have been 
carefully preserved, and it was his expert advice and his draw¬ 
ings and designs which developed the entire art of camouflage. 
Thayer was a naturalist and had studied the underlying prin¬ 
ciples of protective coloring in animals for many years. As a 
result of his research along this line, he has written a number 
of books in scholarly style. 


Note: Thayer’s work is characterized by dignity and re¬ 
finement of coloring. He was an idealist and painted a great 
many allegorical subjects. His abstractions, however, are 
most lovable and livable ones. Technique was not as import¬ 
ant to him as the spirit of things. He said: “Let the painter 
once look upon a person who has no matter how many surface 
defects, one dominant greatness—purity at heart and fiery love 
of truth and beauty—and in his own heart the image of such 
personality wakes into brilliant ringing clearness and takes the 
helm.” 


SUBJECT: Knitting for Soldiers 

(Phillips Memorial Gallery, Washington) 

ARTIST: J. Alden Weir—(American) 

This picture is Weir’s affectionate tribute to American 
women in the war. The interest centers at once in the young 
woman’s knitting. The drawing is exquisitely sensitive and 
expressive of the subject—a wholesome American girl day¬ 
dreaming as she knits her helmet of gray wool for the boy 
who will fight for her as well as for his country. 

The artist was an exceedingly patriotic man. He volun¬ 
teered for active military service in the Spanish-American 
War, although he was forty-six years of age. And he marched 
with the other artists in the Preparedness Parade in New 
York in 1917, although he was very old, and ill, and lame. 

Page ninety-one 


Perhaps Weir's intense patriotism was stimulated during his 
life at West Point, where his father was a professor of draw¬ 
ing from 1834 until 1877. He was one of sixteen children. 

Weir was noted for his painting of still life, but he was 
also a prolific painter of landscape. He studied in Paris and 
one of his early paintings exhibited there was much admired 
by the great artist, Millet, who called it “distinguished." 


Note: As one of that group of American impressionists 
of which Twachtman, Childe Hassam, and others are repre¬ 
sentative figures, Weir early sponsored the principles of di¬ 
vided color. This does not happen to be visible in “Knitting 
for Soldiers," excepting slightly in the brushwork of the 
background, but in many of his other canvases there is a de¬ 
cided separation of color into its original prismatic hues. This 
gives the spotted effect which is familiar in the work of 
the French pointillistes. As in the case of the “Ring," by 
Alexander, the interest is thrown away from the face and is 
focused in the busy fingers. The radiating lines of thread 
and needle assist in concentrating the attention there. 

Restraint and unconscious austerity predominate in Weir's 
style. Most striking are his combed lines and varied surfaces 
for conveying a sense of flesh and fabric under diffused light. 
Weir believed that “art should stimulate to finer issues our 
dormant faculties for living." 


SUBJECT: Battersea Bridge—(Tate Gallery, London) 
ARTIST: James A. McNeill Whistler—(American) 

In the field of art Whistler stands alone. There are three 
great qualities which distinguish his work—color, tone, and 
mastery of handling. He had the power to select only the 
most beautiful in his subject. 

This is well demonstrated in the picture of Battersea Bridge 
on the river Thames in London. It is a good example of his 
well-known nocturnes. Whistler made a series of nocturnes 
or moonlight pictures. The Thames was always fascinating 
to him and he liked to paint scenes of the river with the night 
mist enveloping it. The sense of atmosphere in this picture is 
predominant. The original title was “Nocturne in Blue and 
Silver—Old Battersea Bridge." 

Page ninety-two 


The sky has been very simply painted, yet it has an infinite 
number of gradations which create a dome-like quality, mak¬ 
ing one feel its depth. The bright lights of the rocket and the 
light of the barge emphasize the depth of the sky. The dark 
bridge harmonizes in color with the sky, filling the space per¬ 
fectly. Note its simple design, balanced by the line of river 
bank in the background. All is soft and subdued. 

Whistler was a prolific painter and had an extraordinary 
facility in any medium he chose to adopt. He was equally at 
home with water color, oil, lithographs, drawings and etchings. 
All his work has great artistic merit and possesses extreme 
delicacy of feeling. 


Note: Whistler produced the maximum effect with the 
minimum of display. The simplicity with which this picture 
is painted shows the influence of the Japanese artists. To 
Whistler the subject was of secondary importance. Nature 
only provided a color scheme for him to work upon. The 
actual scene lost all significance and became a glorious har¬ 
mony. To quote the artist’s own words: “When the evening 
mist clothes the river side with poetry, as with a veil, and the 
poor buildings lose themselves in the dim sky, and the tall 
chimneys become campanili, and the warehouses are palaces 
in the night, and the whole city hangs in the heavens, and 

fairyland is before us-then. . . . Nature, who, for once, 

has sung in tune, sings her exquisite song to the artist alone, 
her son and her master—her son in that he loves her, her 
master in that he knows her.” 


SUBJECT: Mother of the Artist 

(Luxembourg Gallery, Paris) 

ARTIST: James A. McNeill Whistler—(American) 

This is one of the greatest pictures ever painted in this 
or any other age. It personifies motherhood—universal 
motherhood— and is the most remarkable conception of a 
mother ever put on a canvas. The artist’s mother posed for 
the picture. Note the tenderness and delicacy with which the 
face has been reproduced. As we look at it a sense of stillness 
and peace and utter quiet possesses us. It is a marvelous study 
of character which reveals the sweetness and self sacrifice of 
motherhood. 


Page ninety-three 



Aside from the character delineation, the beautiful place¬ 
ment of the figure on the canvas strikes the eye at once. The 
sweeping line of the figure, broken at the bottom of the canvas, 
and the introduction of the chair, emphasize the simplicity of 
the subject. The contrast of color between the gray wall, the 
lace cap with its string falling over the black dress, the delicate 
hands and face, and the cambric handkerchief, is very interest¬ 
ing. The picture on the wall fills up the space between the 
figure and the curtain in just the right way to emphasize the 
height of the ceiling and to bring the figure away from the 
wall. If it were placed farther down, it would be a commonplace 
arrangement. But, together with the dark gray Japanese cur¬ 
tain and its flowered pattern, it makes a highly artistic com¬ 
position. Simplicity and dignity are the keynotes of the whole 
picture. 


Note: Volumes might be written on the art of this great 
American genius who, inspired by the study of Velasquez and 
the Japanese, gave the world an art which was distinctly his 
own. 

Whistler called this picture “An Arrangement in Gray and 
Black/’ The poet Swinburne speaks of its “intense pathos of 
significance, and tender depth of expression.” 

Bryant said: “The eyes travel over this canvas without 
finding a fault. The artist has omitted nothing which might 
have been included and has included nothing that might have 
been omitted. In other words, it is a perfect work of art.” 

It is interesting to notice the combination of color in the 
shadow of the figure and how it melts into the dark baseboard. 
Comment upon the way the mother has placed her feet in a 
precise New England manner on the old-fashioned foot stool. 
The line of the curtain is broken by the corner of the dress; 
the footstool breaks the monotony of the floor. These assist 
in forming a beautiful design. The edge of the skirt at the left 
is sharply defined against the floor, while at the right its out¬ 
line is lost in shadow. 

There is an entire absence of brush work throughout the 
picture. It has the suggestion of a fine ‘portrait by Holbein, 
equally as much as one by Velasquez. As a technical achieve¬ 
ment, it ranks among the finest of Whistler’s work. 


Page ninety-four 


SUBJECT: Forenoon in the Adirondacks 

(Metropolitan Museum, New York) 

ARTIST: Alexander H. Wyant—(American) 

This picture is striking in its grouping of masses and its 
arrangement of light and shade. The foreground in shadow 
and the sun on the trees in the distance give the forenoon 
effect. There is a mastery of detail because it preserves the 
unity of the composition as a whole. The silver birch tree 
in the foreground has been introduced to break the mass of 
sky and to give depth to the picture. There is just the right 
quantity of sky reflection in the little pond, which breaks the 
horizontal mass of shadow formed by the shrubbery. 

The color is restrained, showing great artfulness. This is 
a typical example of Wyant’s coloring and style. It is re¬ 
markable that so beautiful a picture could have been painted 
with the artist’s left hand, his right hand and arm being para¬ 
lyzed. The whole story of the artist’s life is one of achieve¬ 
ment in the face of adversity. He was born in Defiance, Ohio, 
where he had no opportunities for study. He constantly made 
sketches of stones, banks, trees and shrubbery, and later, out- 
of-door scenes. He was apprenticed to a harness maker and 
spent his leisure hours sign painting. At the first art exhibi¬ 
tion he ever attended he became fascinated with Inness, under 
whose friendly criticism he later worked and whose inspira¬ 
tion guided him through his entire career. 

After he became paralyzed, Wyant was never free from 
bodily discomfort. It took tremendous effort to learn the 
use of his left hand. His own character is reflected in his 
work—conscientious, refined, masterly. Most of his paintings 
reveal scenes in the Adirondacks or Catskills, where he suc¬ 
cessively made his home. 


Note: One feels in this picture the breath of nature. One 
can almost hear the birds singing in the trees. It is a lovely 
glimpse of Nature in her rugged, untamed form. Anywhere 
in the Adirondacks one might find a similar scene. The life 
of Wyant is a splendid thing to impress upon young people— 
his overcoming of all obstacles, his fineness of character, and 
perseverance. Living much to himself, something of a hermit 
in his mountain home, weighed down by misfortunes and dis¬ 
appointments, the wonder grows that he not only kept up and 
improved his technique to the end, but that he preserved his 
serenity of mood and purity of outlook through it all. • He 


Page ninety-five 


must have been a man with fortitude of soul beyond the 
average, for not everyone can turn stumbling blocks into step¬ 
ping stones. 


ANNOUNCEMENT 


The customary black and white illustrations have been 
omitted from this volume because color reproduction is neces¬ 
sary for an adequate conception of painting as an art. Since 
recent color photography has made possible faithful repro¬ 
ductions of the great masters, the better grade of color print 
is always advised for study. 

The great public galleries, in which are found the paint¬ 
ings described in the foregoing pages, have authorized the 
publication of the Museum Color Prints , which are produced 
under their supervision. They measure 8x10 inches plate 
size, and are printed on extra heavy paper (11 x 14 inches)— 
50c. per copy. 

The same subjects are published in the Picture Study Min¬ 
iatures for supplementary note book work. They average 
2*4x3 inches in size, and are arranged in sheets of 10 sub¬ 
jects, gummed and perforated—20c. per sheet. 

The plates for the Museum Prints are photographed 
through color filters directly from the original paintings, and 
represent the highest standard of color reproductions ever 

realized. 


Page ninety-six 



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